New Delhi: Noted Supreme Court lawyer Mohan V Katarki has described the CBI raid on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office as unjustified. Commenting on the highly controversial raid, he wrote that the manner in which the raid has been conducted raises several questions over the neutrality of the CBI and its intentions. He has also felt that the CBi’s conduct is against federalism.
Mohan Katarki’s points:
1. After registering an FIR against the senior officials of Delhi government for corruption in the purchase of computers during the period of 2007 to 2014, which includes Rajender Kumar who is presently Principal Secretary to Delhi CM, the CBI obtained search warrant and swung into action searching his office.
2. The alleged corruption in the purchase of computers (either in terms of excess price or quantity) can be investigated by scrutinising the purchase files in the Departments of Education and Finance. What has the present office of Kumar got to do with these files which he handled in his previous avatar?
3. The CBI though an independent investigating agency has not been above politics; whether it is UPA or NDA regime. The manner in which this raid was conducted, the suspicion obviously arises that the search was more to deter Kumar's boss Arvind Kejriwal or to collect some paper than to to investigate any crime against Kumar.
4. Besides, what CBI did is contrary to the spirit of federalism. Under our constitutional set up, the Centre does not have investigating powers on the chief ministers. Even though Delhi is not a full state, the autonomy of Chief Minister's office should not be violated.
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