New Delhi: A special court today asked the CBI as to what was the “hurry” in filing a closure report in the coal blocks allocation case in which it had earlier lodged an FIR against top industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and others.
“What was the hurry to close this case?” Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar asked the agency's investigating officer (IO).
During the hearing, the IO told the court that original minutes of the screening committee meeting, in which Birla-owned Hindalco's application seeking coal blocks allocation was dealt with, were “missing”.
To this, the court asked the IO to show if there was any statement which says that the original minutes of the meeting of the screening committee were missing. “No such statement of anyone is there that the original minutes are missing,” the judge said.
As the IO was unable to give explanation to the queries of the court, the judge directed him to call his supervisory officer in the court.
The court also pulled up the CBI for not bringing the case diary.
“On what basis you (CBI) have drawn such conclusion (to close the case)? What kind of investigation you have done? What was the supervisory officer doing? Bring the police file and call your supervisory officer in the court now,” the judge told the IO.
During the arguments, the court also hauled up the CBI for “dumping” illegible documents before it, saying that some of the papers filed along with the final reports were blank. “They (CBI) are dumping illegible documents in the court like anything....I am not able to read the documents,” the judge said.
The court had earlier asked the CBI to clarify whether “rule of law” was followed in allocation of coal blocks to Birla's Hindalco.
