Praful Patel aviation probe to NDTV loan case - CBI closed 174 cases due to lack of evidence in 2024: Report

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) closed about 174 cases due to lack of evidence, in the year 2024.

As per a report by Hindustan Times, CBI closed record 174 cases in 2024 for lack of evidence. The CBI filed closure report in 174 cases which tops the list as compared to the previous years records. In a year, a general number of 30 to 60 closure reports were recorded, with 62 cases in 2023.

Here are some of the well-known cases that were closed in 2024:

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a closure report in its 2017 probe into the alleged irregularities in the leasing of aircraft by NACIL, a company formed by the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines during the UPA era, as there was no “evidence of any wrongdoing”.

  NCP leader Praful Patel was the Union civil aviation minister in the earlier Congress-led United Progress Alliance (UPA) government when the leasing was done.

• A 2017 case against Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan. The case pertains to clearance given for diversion of forest land in Saranda Forest, Singhbhum District in Jharkhand to mining company Electrosteel in alleged violation of Forest (Conservation Act) in 2012.

  The permission was rejected by the Minister of State for Environment Jairam Ramesh but when Natarajan took the post, she allegedly cleared it.

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed the closure report before a special court last year, after its six-year-long probe did not find any irregularities in the transactions between the ICICI Bank and NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy.

  The case was lodged on a complaint from Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities Limited, who had alleged that the ICICI Bank had sanctioned a loan of Rs 375 crore in 2008 against the entire 61 per cent shareholding of the NDTV promoters as collateral.

The report quoting an officer said the CBI director Praveen Sood in 2024 had told the units to "scavenge" the cases that were supposed to be either "winded up or finalise them;" after which the agency disposed 1,293 charge sheets and 174 closure reports last year, as reported by HT.

The officer further said, "they never crossed the figure of finalising 1,000 cases in a year previously."

"It is the first time that our net outflow of completing investigation in cases related to corruption, economic offences, and heinous crimes is more than the inflow," the publication quoted the officer.

Another officer explained how the CBI cases are complicated and hence some probes are delayed.

He also added that there are cases that have been pending for over 5-10 years, however, the director CBI now has asked the units to clear the cases in order to increase the efficiency of the agency."

(With PTI inputs)