Inform before filing case on Harish Rawat in sting CD case, Uttarakhand HC to CBI

Nainital: Uttarakhand High Court on Monday directed the CBI to intimate it prior to filing a regular case against Chief Minister Harish Rawat on the basis of its preliminary investigations into the sting CD case.

Hearing Rawat's writ petition seeking quashing of a notification recommending a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case, the bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia asked the top investigating agency to inform the court before it files a regular case against Rawat.

The notification was issued during President's Rule in the state.

The court fixed July 19 as the next date of hearing. Noted lawyer Rajeev Dhawan appeared on behalf of Harish Rawat.

The sting CD in which Mr Rawat is purportedly shown negotiating a deal with alleged middlemen to "buy back" the support of disgruntled Congress legislators is said to have been one of the factors leading to imposition of President's Rule in the state.

Harish Rawat has appeared twice before the CBI in Delhi in connection with the ongoing inquiry.

On May 31, the High Court had directed the CBI not to take any "coercive" steps against the chief minister in the case. It had also asked Mr Rawat to fully cooperate with the investigation.