Initiate contempt proceeding against CBI officials: Court

A special court has urged the Delhi High Court to initiate “contempt of court” proceedings against some CBI officials, including the investigating officer in a corruption case against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s principal secretary Rajendra Kumar and others.

Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar Jain sent a reference to high court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Deputy Superintendent of Police of CBI, Jayant Kashmiri and agency other officials.

The order came in the wake of CBI’s March 11 reply field in response to an application filed by Endeavour Systems Pvt Ltd, which was alleged to have received contracts from Kumar who had purportedly favoured it by abusing his official position.

“...a criminal contempt reference is also sent to High Court through District and Sessions Judge, New Delhi District requesting therein to initiate contempt of court proceedings against IO DSP Jayant Kashmiri and other officials of CBI who have approved the reply dated March 11,” the court said.

In a separate order, the court had ordered defreezing of two bank accounts of a company, M/s Endeavour Systems Pvt Ltd, which was alleged to have received contracts from Kumar, who had purportedly favoured it by abusing his official position.

It had also castigated CBI for flouting the procedures with impunity and being conspicuously ambiguous in its probe in the case.

On December 15 last year, CBI had raided the office of Rajendra Kumar, close to the Chief Minister’s office here, in connection with the case.

According to the CBI, “Rajender Kumar had played an active role in the process of promising and facilitating award of tender to a pre determined party i.e., M/s Endeavour Systems Pvt Ltd due to extraneous considerations and devoid of public interest which shows clear element of abuse of official position and criminal conspiracy among the accused persons including the Directors of the present applicant company.” CBI had registered a case against Kumar and others on the allegations against the officer that he had abused his official position by favouring the firm in the last few years in getting tenders from Delhi government departments.