Probe Against Ex-CBI Boss Ranjit Sinha for Diluting Coal Block Cases Nearly Over, SC Told

New Delhi: The investigation against former CBI director Ranjit Sinha for allegedly scuttling probe into some coal block allocations scam cases is almost over, the agency informed the Supreme Court on Monday.

Special prosecutor RS Cheema, representing the CBI in the scam cases, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde that the final report is going to be readied anytime soon.

"The investigation is nearly over. The final report should be ready anytime soon. Please keep this matter in February and we will apprise this court about the final report," Cheema told the bench. The statement from the senior lawyer came as advocate Prashant Bhushan raised the issue.

Bhushan pointed out that the probe was ordered by the Supreme Court way back in 2015 but the progress is not known till date.

“This is a very serious matter. The charges are that the then CBI boss overruled all his investigating officers to protect some high and mighty accused in the case. This court must be apprised of the final outcome now,” said Bhushan.

With Cheema's statement coming forth on the status of probe, the bench agreed to wait till February.

Holding him lacking in “ethical rectitude”, the Supreme Court had in May 2015 said former CBI director Sinha must be investigated over his private meetings with the accused in the coal block allocations scam to ascertain if these conversations resulted in scuttling the probe and the judicial processes.

The top court had then held that it was “completely inappropriate” for Sinha to have met the accused without the presence of the investigating officers. "It is necessary to look into the question whether any one or more such meetings have had any impact on the investigations and subsequent charge sheets or closure reports filed by the CBI," said the court.

It had also constituted a special team, which had in 2017 favoured a further investigation against Sinha after finding a prima facie case against him. The top court, which has been monitoring the investigations into the scam cases, then ordered a CBI probe.