LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, Feb. 10: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a petition of the Kolkata police challenging the CBI investigating the role of the Kolkata police in the cash for PIL case lodged by Kolkata based businessman Amit Agrawal against Jharkhand High Court advocate Rajiv Kumar.
The Supreme Court allowed the CBI to continue the investigation and said that the CBI may investigate the role of the police. The Kolkata police raised an objection over the CBI investigation stating that the West Bengal government had withdrawn the general consent from the CBI. Hence in such a situation the agency can’t investigate the role of any official. The court rejected this contention and said that the same doesn’t hamper investigation of the agency.
As per the court order the CBI will continue investigation but will not arrest any of its officials till the finality of this case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) too had raised suspicion over the role of the Kolkata police in lodging the FIR trapping Rajiv Kumar along with cash.
But the Kolkata police is particularly agitated over the FIR of the CBI in which it has named some unknown officials of Kolkata police as suspects. However, the Kolkata police got some relief also.
The petition filed by Commissioner of Police of Kolkata as an SLP (Criminal) was heard by the bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice M. M. Sundresh.
The Kolkata police, in its petition, had stated that the ED and the CBI made a baseless allegation that it connived with Amit Agrawal to trap Rajiv Kumar on July 30 last year in order to implicate the judiciary, the ED and other agencies.
The police claimed that neither the ED nor the CBI made any allegation against any police officer individually. But both the agencies named entire Kolkata police which is highly prejudicial and bad in the eyes of the law. Amit Agrawal too has been made a party in this.
Rajiv Kumar is the advocate at Jharkhand High Court who was arguing on behalf of his client Shiv Shankar Sharma in three PILs, including the shell company related matter which was primarily against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. In the said PIL he alleged Amit Agrawal was closely connected with Hemant Soren and illegal money was laundered through his companies also. However, these PILs were dismissed by the Supreme Court later on.
The incident took the turn when Rajiv Kumar was arrested by Kolkata police on July 31 last year along with Rs 50 lakh cash in Kolkata. Later on, it was revealed that he was trapped on the basis of a complaint lodged by Amit Agrawal. The businessman stated that Rajiv Kumar demanded Rs. 10 Crore to clear his name from the PIL stating that he had to pay money to officials of the ED and the judiciary as well.
The ED took up this matter for investigation and later on filed a prosecution complaint against Amit Agrawal and Rajiv Kumar in cash for PIL case. Amit Agrawal, who is the original complainant, was named as the first accused in this prosecution complaint. This was apparently the first time in the history of ED where a complainant ended as an accused.
The ED has said that Amit Agrawal offered a bribe which Rajiv Kumar accepted hence both are guilty of offering and accepting bribe. In the FIR Amit Agrawal stated that Rajiv Kumar asked him to the Esplanade area along with cash Rs 50 Lakh on the evening of July 31st else he would have to face consequence. Rajiv Kumar was arrested at Quest Mall which is far away from Esplanade. Amit Agrawal could not explain how the venue of their meeting was changed. In the chargesheet the ED raised question on the conduct of the Kolkata police as well indicating the Kolkata police apparently became the part of the gameplan of Amit Agrawal to defame the judiciary and the ED so that the PIL is rejected before the Supreme Court.
CBI conducts inquiry on instruction of Jharkhand High Court, lodges FIR against Amit Agrawal
Later on, Amit Agrawal moved a petition before the Jharkhand High Court to seek the relief and an independent inquiry of this matter as he felt aggrieved while booked as an accused by the ED. The court of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi ordered the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry of this matter.
The CBI concluded the probe and lodged an FIR against Amit Agrawal and unknown officials of the Kolkata police for hatching a conspiracy and scandalising the judiciary, ED officials and other government officials through an allegedly frivolous FIR.
The CBI said that prima facie it appears commission of cognizable offences punishable u/s 120-B & 182 of IPC and Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (As amended in 2018) on the part of (i) Sh. Amit Kumar Agarwal; (ii) Unknown officials of Kolkata Police and (iii) Unknown Others.
The CBI said that the enquiry further revealed that the High Court clubbed both petitions together and active hearing was going on in both the PILs.
The CBI said that earlier in the month of March 2022, an attempt was made by Amit Kumar Agarwal through the then DC of Ranchi Chhavi Ranjan to influence Rajiv Kumar in connection with the PILs. The CBI said that Amit Kumar Agarwal filed a complaint dated 31.07.2022 at Hare Street Police Station against Rajiv Kumar and Shiv Shankar Sharma for illegally demanding a bribe amount of Rs. 10 Crore and for extorting the same for dismissing the PIL.
Based on the complaint of Amit Kumar Agarwal, the Hare Street Police Station, Kolkata registered a case FIR No. 222/2022 against Rajiv Kumar and Shiv Shankar Sharma for the above-mentioned allegations u/s 7A of PC Act, 1988 and section 120-B r/w 384 of IPC.
The CBI said that Amit Kumar Agarwal called Rajiv Kumar from Ranchi to Kolkata, first on 13.7.2022 and then on 31.7.2022 through one of his known Sonu Agarwal and induced him to take money for getting the PIL dismissed. The conversations between Amit Kumar Agarwal and Rajeev Kumar on both occasions were recorded by Amit Kumar Agarwal.
Moreover, Amit Kumar Agarwal induced Rajiv Kumar to use his good contacts with Judges and get the PIL matter dismissed and also offered him money and enquired about the amount of money required for the same.
The CBI said that when Amit Agrawal called Rajiv Kumar on 31.07.2022, he handed over Rs. 50 Lakh to Rajiv Kumar and got him trapped by the Kolkata Police.
Notably, the FIR no. 222/2022 under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered by Hare Street Police Station on the basis of the said complaint of Amit Agrawal even without mentioning the name of any public servant or unknown public servants in the FIR before invoking the sections of Prevention of Corruption Act.
Furthermore, the information provided by Amit Agrawal to Hare Street PS was false and the bribe was given to Rajiv Kumar by alluring him with the intention to interfere with the judicial process. Contrary to the allegation made in the complaint to the Hare Street PS, it was Amit Agrawal who called Rajiv Kumar to Kolkata through Sonu Agarwal and offered him money. Further, the conversation recorded by Amit Kumar Agarwal also does not reveal any threat of extortion from Rajiv Kumar or claim to stop the agency from conducting any raid.
The enquiry has therefore revealed that Amit Kumar Agarwal had called Rajiv Kumar to Kolkata and offered and gave him Rs 50 lacs to induce a public servant to get the PIL dismissed.
