CBI team shows up at Judge’s house, lawyers fume

CBI was armed with the warrant to search the residence of retired acting Chief Justice I M Quddusi, when it was pointed out that they were at the wrong place.
I M Quddusi
I M Quddusi

BHUBANESWAR: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) landed in a spot after a team of the agency’s sleuths showed up at the residence of a sitting Judge of Orissa High Court in Cuttack late on Tuesday night.

The CBI team claimed that it was in possession of a warrant to search the house but the security personnel raised strong objection. The team, comprising about four to five officials, insisted that it must be allowed to search the house when a PCR van reached the spot. The team apparently told the police that it was armed with the warrant to search the residence of retired acting Chief Justice I M Quddusi, when it was pointed out that they were at the wrong place.

Later, the PCR van escorted the team to Cantonment Police Station where their identity was checked and the sleuths left the place. The incident occurred between 1.30 am and 2.30 am.When the matter came to light in the morning, the HC Bar Association reacted angrily and convened an emergency meeting following which the lawyers abstained from work as a mark of protest. The cease-work will continue till Thursday noon.

While the incident left the HC Bar Association fuming, the home guard, who was on security duty at the Judge’s house, filed a formal complaint with Cantonment Police Station on Wednesday morning basing on which a case was registered against P K Mishra, an inspector-ranked officer of CBI, and others.
Later, Director-General of Police Dr R P Sharma and Police Commissioner Y B Khurania met Chief Justice Vineet Saran and briefed him about the issue.

Dr Sharma told this paper that detailed inquiry into the matter would be conducted. The case has been registered under Sections 448, 353, 511 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.Police Commissioner Khurania told mediapersons that the CBI team failed to produce the warrant to the diary charge officer at the police station. “The matter has been viewed seriously since it concerns the judiciary and there is a standard procedure laid down in such matters,” he said.

Meanwhile, the HC Bar Association also passed a resolution seeking a fair, proper and impartial investigation into the matter through an independent agency. The meeting, chaired by vice-president Kali Prasanna Mishra, resolved that a request will be made to all Bar Associations of Cuttack to support the resolution.The Association’s general body will meet on Thursday to decide the next course of action.

CBI books retired Orissa HC judge for graft  

New Delhi: The CBI has filed an FIR against a retired Orissa High Court Judge I M Quddusi for helping an Uttar Pradesh-based educational trust, barred by the government from admitting medical students, in settling the legal matter, an official said on Wednesday.  Besides Quddusi, Bhawana Pandey, a Delhi-based conduit, B P Yadav, Palash Yadav, Sudhir Giri, Biswanath Agrawala, a resident of Odisha, and some unidentified public servants have been booked under charges of criminal conspiracy of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI registered the FIR on Tuesday on the basis of information and conducted raids on Wednesday at eight locations.

CBI refutes charge

Bhubaneswar: The CBI on Wednesday refuted the allegation of attempt to search or trespass the residence of any sitting judge of the Orissa High Court. A spokesperson of the agency said the CBI was investigating the role of a retired Orissa High Court judge - along with other persons - in connection with corruption related to a private medical college. During the investigation, the CBI teams visited several places last night, including current and past residences of the retired Orissa HC Judge in question, the probe agency said. A CBI team, with independent witnesses, also visited the former residence of the retired HC Judge in Cuttack last night for recovering incriminating documents and cash, it added.  The CBI said its team was informed at the gate that the retired Judge was no longer residing there. It immediately left the location and informed the local police of the development, it asserted.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com