CBI misusing CrPC provisions: Kejriwal's former principal secretary Rajendra Kumar

NEW DELHI: Suspended IAS officer Rajendra Kumar, the former Principal Secretary of Arvind Kejriwal, has accused the CBI of "misusing" CrPC provisions by continuing a probe against him despite having filed a charge sheet.

In a blogpost, Kumar said that while Section 173(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code permits further investigation after the filing of charge sheet, it is intended to be used when "entirely new evidence comes".

"...and that too never simultaneously when charge sheet has just been filed under Section 173(2)," Kumar, who recently stated his desire to join a political party, wrote.

The CBI had filed charge sheet against Kumar in connection with a case of alleged graft in December last year.

"The CBI is misusing the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code to continue to put pressure on people, whom they have implicated along with me in the case. Else, they would have filed the charge sheet only after completing the investigation and after gathering all the evidence required.

"It is clear that they understand that the charge sheet filed is going to fail and therefore, the only way to continue to threaten the people is to misuse the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code," Kumar said.

In the charge sheet, it has been alleged that the accused persons had entered into a criminal conspiracy and caused a loss of Rs 12 crore to the Delhi government in award of contracts between 2007 and 2015.

The 1989-batch IAS officer has been charged with alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under Indian Penal Code besides provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act along with eight others and Endeavour Systems Private Limited, the CBI had said.