New Delhi: The Supreme Court vacated Friday its earlier order granting protection from arrest to former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha chit fund scam case.
The apex court said its February 5 order granting interim protection to Kumar will continue for seven days from Friday to enable him to approach the competent court for legal remedy.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the CBI to act in accordance with law in the case. “We have withdrawn the protection given to Rajeev Kumar vide order dated February 5,” the court said while pronouncing the order.
One of the advocates who appeared for the IPS officer said that as per the apex court order, Kumar cannot be arrested in the next seven days.
The judgment was pronounced by Justice Sanjiv Khanna who was part of the bench headed by the CJI and Justice Deepak Gupta. Pronouncing the operative part of the order, Justice Khanna said, “We are leaving it to the CBI to act in accordance with law. Our February 5 order will continue for seven days from today to enable Rajeev Kumar to approach the competent court for relief.”
The Election Commission earlier Wednesday ordered the removal of Kumar, who was posted as Additional Director General, CID, in West Bengal for allegedly failing to control incidents of violence in the state and had asked him to report Thursday to the Union Home Ministry.
Kumar was earlier heading the West Bengal Police’s special investigation team (SIT) probing the chit fund scam. The apex court had in May 2014 directed the CBI to investigate the case.
The CBI had told the apex court that it wanted custodial interrogation of Kumar as there was prima facie evidence that he was allegedly trying to destroy or tamper with evidence and ‘shield high and mighty’ in the case.
PTI