Punjab govt moves Supreme Court against HC order for CBI probe into ED letters

NEW DELHI: The Punjab government will approach the Supreme Court to challenge the Punjab and Haryana high court’s order directing a CBI probe into the matter concerning three letters written by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the Punjab Director General of Police (DGP), AAP said.The state government will file an appeal against the High Court’s order.The High Court had on Monday directed that the matter be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Nikhil Thamman. The petition was filed after the Punjab Police allegedly failed to register a case based on the ED’s letters.The ED had sought registration of an FIR against Rajbir Singh Ghumman, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and certain other individuals over alleged corruption.During the hearing, Thamman also submitted that Punjab has not had a regular DGP for more than four years. The petition referred to the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Prakash Singh vs Union of India case and its directions on the appointment of a regular DGP from a panel recommended by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

Meanwhile, Punjab Congress chief Pargat Singh alleged systemic corruption in the state administration and warned officials against aligning with the government following the High Court’s order to transfer the matter to the CBI.Speaking to ANI, Singh criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), calling the party and its members a “sham” and alleging that even the office of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has come under scrutiny.“This party was created by the BJP as their own B-team, but the idea was to make the laws so strict that no matter who the minister or senior official was, anyone involved in corruption would automatically end up in jail. Today, that is the situation. The entire episode involving Arvind Kejriwal and his associates is a sham. Even the Chief Minister’s Office has been linked to allegations of corruption, which had also been raised earlier by the Enforcement Directorate,” he said.