PNB: HC asks CBI not to discard CDRs of probing officer

The Bombay High Court directed the CBI on Monday not to discard the call data records of its officer who is investigating the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam involving diamond jeweller Nirav Modi.

A single bench of Justice Ajey Gadkari also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file its affidavit in response to an application filed by an accused, Miten Pandya, alleging illegal detention before his arrest in connection with the case.

Pandya, the former finance manager in Nirav Modi's Firestar International firm, claimed he was arrested by the CBI on March 4 morning but was shown as arrested only in the late evening and was produced before a special CBI court on March 5 evening.

He sought preservation of call records of the central agency's investigating officer along with the daily entry register at the CBI office to prove that he was produced before the court over 24 hours after he was arrested.

"Pandya's arrest was in violation of section 57 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) by which any person arrested has to be produced before the court concerned within a period of 24 hours," his advocate Vijay Agarwal argued.

Justice Gadkari directed CBI counsel Hiten Venegaonkar to file an affidavit in response to the application within two weeks.

The high court said the probing agency should strictly follow provisions of CrPC section 57.

The bench also said till the agency files its affidavit, it shall not discard the call data records (CDRs) of the investigating officer.