New Delhi, Satish Sana, the businessman who accused CBI no. 2 of bribery, has been given protection by the Supreme Court. The apex court directed the Hyderabad police to give security to businessman Satish Sana. Sana ia a complainant in the alleged bribery case against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana.
A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices UU Lalit and KM Joseph refused to stay CBI summons against Sana and also rejected his plea for the recording of his statement in presence of retired former SC judge AK Patnaik.
Satish Sana had moved the apex court on Monday seeking police protection and a stay on the notice issued by the agency summoning him for interrogation. An FIR was registered against the CBI Special Director on Sana’s complaint.
This Hyderabad-based businessman had filed a corruption complaint against Central Bureau of Investigation Special Director Rakesh Asthana. After the recent upheavals in India’s premier agency, Sana had approached the Supreme Court seeking interim protection in the case. Sana moved the apex court amid reports of the CBI summoning him for questioning.
Satish Sana is being investigated in the money laundering case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi. While making a statement to the CBI, he had alleged that Asthana had taken a bribe of Rs 2 crore from him. Taking cognisance of this, the CBI registered an FIR with bribery charges against Asthana on 15 October. A copy of Sana’s purported “handwritten statement” dated 1 October was handed over to the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) by a joint director of the CBI to establish that the statement belonged to Sana.
However, Asthana later accused CBI Director Alok Verma of being corrupt instead and filed a complaint against him. The Centre then intervened in the internal tussle of the CBI and sent both Verma and Asthana on leave, divesting them of their duties at the agency. M Nageshwar Rao was appointed the interim director of the CBI. But the court cautioned that the interim director cannot take any major policy decision.
After being divested from his duties, Verma had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Centre’s decision to send him on leave. On Friday, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi gave the CVC two weeks to complete the inquiry into the various charges against Verma and submit its report to the court.
This is perhaps for the first time in the History of independent India that chinks in country’s premier investigating agency has come out in open bringing disgrace to the CBI, so much looked with reverence by common man for an impartial investigation.
