NEW DELHI: CBI has been slapped with a cost of Rs 5,000 as "deterrence" by a special court for repeatedly seeking permission to submit additional documents in a disproportionate assets case involving INLD chief O P Chautala's son Abhay.
The court, which allowed CBI's plea to place on record some additional documents in the case, made it clear that the right of prosecution was "not absolute and unchecked" and said it should resort to "due diligence" while filing charge sheet.
"...this is the fourth application moved by prosecution to file additional documents on record. This right of prosecution is not absolute and unchecked, to the extent that, at any stage prosecution may come with similar applications.
If these documents were material for just decision of the case, why was this fact not considered earlier while moving similar applications.
"The CBI being premier investigating agency should resort to due diligence while filing the charge sheet so that all relevant and important documents, for just decision of the case, are filed along with the charge sheet and plea of inadvertence is permissible only for one or two occasions," Special CBI Judge Sanjay Garg-I said.
"To put a deterrence on CBI, cost of Rs 5,000 is imposed to be deposited in DLSA", the court said, directing the probe agency to provide copy of these documents to the accused at the earliest.
The court's order came on CBI's plea seeking permission to file additional documents relied upon. Along with the plea, the agency also filed the list of documents which it will seek from witnesses, who are yet to be examined.
The plea was opposed by Abhay who said prosecution has been allowed thrice to place additional documents on record and this was CBI's fourth such application and induction of these documents at this stage would prejudice the accused.
To this, the court gave liberty to the accused to seek its permission to further cross-examine any witness, already been examined, in relation to additional documents which CBI has sought to file.
CBI had lodged a case of disproportionate assets against INLD chief and former Haryana Chief Minister O P Chautala and his sons Ajay and Abhay on a complaint of Congress leader Shamsher Singh Surjewala in the 1999-2000 junior basic trained (JBT) teachers recruitment scam.
Chautala and Ajay were sentenced to 10 years in jail earlier this year by the high court in the JBT scam.