Graft case: CBI faces court's ire for filing closure report

NEW DELHI: Taking CBI to task for "hurriedly" filing a closure report on a corruption case against some Delhi Jal Board officials, a city court today rejected it and directed the agency further probe the matter and explore whether the offenders could be chargesheeted.

"The perusal of the charge sheet makes it clear that the investigating officer (IO) without conducting detailed probe, hurriedly filed the closure report only because the sanction was not accorded by the competent authority," Special CBI Judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma said.

Maintaining that the report "is vulnerable on many aspects and cannot be accepted as such", the court said "the closure report is rejected."

The case pertains to alleged conspiracy, forgery and criminal misconduct by DJB officials between 2006 and 2009, when the board had got tubewells for drinking water installed through private contractors and sub-standard pipes were allegedly used.

CBI had lodged an FIR against several persons, including some public servants, in the case for offences under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Rejecting CBI's closure report, the court directed it to further probe into the matter noting that investigating officer had not conducted a "detailed probe" and had sought closure of the case only because the sanction to prosecute the accused was not accorded by competent authority.

It also asked CBI to consider whether, in absence of sanction under the provision of Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), the offenders could be charge sheeted for offences of conspiracy, forgery and cheating of IPC.

It said that merely because the sanction was not accorded for the prosecution under PCA, the IO took a "somersault and concluded that there was no sufficient evidence to prove the guilt against any of the accused."