A division bench of Calcutta High Court, on Friday, asked the CBI not to take any steps till June 26, as directed in a Single Judge order, in a case where the panchayat returning officer allegedly tampered with documents filed with nomination for rural polls.
Two petitioners (aspiring candidates for the elections) had, earlier, approached the court with their grievances. The court had, on Wednesday, observed that the allegation is against an officer responsible for conducting a free and fair election, and the enquiry needs to be done by an independent authority. Justice Amrita Sinha had directed the CBI to conduct the investigation by July 5. The agency was directed to place a report before the court on July 7.
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Justice Arijit Banerjee, and Justice Apurba Sinha, in the order on Friday, observed that there are two questions to be considered – the circumstances in which a CBI enquiry may be justifiably directed by the Court, and whether or not facts of the present case portray or depict one of such circumstances.
The judges proposed to pass their order on June 26 at 2 pm. Considering the arguable cases of both parties which require careful consideration, the Court directed CBI not to take any steps in terms of the impugned order till June 26.