By IANS
New Delhi : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Friday indicated to the Supreme Court that it needed to register a regular criminal case against former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family members for possessing assets exceeding their legal income.
The agency gave the indication in an application submitted to the court’s registry.
The CBI said it had concluded its preliminary probe into allegations that Yadav and his family members possessed disproportionate assets. The agency also sought the court’s permission to apprise it of its findings for further directions.
“It is submitted that the CBI has concluded its (preliminary) enquiry and is willing to place the status report before this court for perusal, if necessary,” the CBI said.
“If a preliminary enquiry by the CBI discloses commission of offences by the persons concerned, a regular case is registered and investigated as per the law,” said the CBI, hinting that it has found prima facie evidence of disproportionate assets owned by Yadav and his family members.
“In the matter of a registration of a case, the CBI does not make a reference either to the central or the state government,” said the CBI, again hinting that it needs to register a corruption case against Yadav but without any directions from the state or central government.
The Supreme Court on March 1 this year, acting on a public interest lawsuit by advocate Vishvanath Chaturvedi, had ordered the CBI to conduct a preliminary probe to ascertain whether Yadav and his family members owned disproportionate assets.
The court had then asked the CBI to apprise the central government of its findings into the probe and seek its directions on the next course of action.
To this, the CBI Friday pointed out to the court that the laws governing the agency’s functioning do not mandate it to seek the advice or directions of the central or a state government on its next course of action after concluding its preliminary enquiry.