Delhi HC grants 4 more months time to CBI to complete probe in Asthana bribery case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday granted four more months to the CBI to complete its probe in a bribery case involving the agency's former special director Rakesh Asthana.

Justice Mukta Gupta allowed the CBI's plea seeking extension of time to complete its investigation in the case lodged against Asthana, DSP Devender Kumar and middleman Manoj Prasad.

On January 11, the court had granted 10 weeks to the probe agency to complete its investigation. The CBI had approached the high court after completion of 10 weeks time. Asthana was booked on the allegations of criminal conspiracy, corruption and criminal misconduct under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Kumar, earlier the investigating officer in a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi, was arrested on the allegations of forgery in recording the statement of Hyderabad-based businessman Sathish Babu Sana, who had allegedly paid bribe to get relief in the case. He was arrested on October 22, 2018 and granted bail on October 31.

The CBI had sought more time to complete its probe in the case so as to conduct the probe in a free, fair and transparent manner. The High Court was earlier informed that Kumar has filed an appeal before the Supreme Court against the high court's order dismissing his and others' plea to quash the FIR against them. The court had also questioned the CBI for not sending Letters Rogatory (LRs) to various countries till mid of April even though it had passed in January the order dismissing the pleas to quash the FIR.

LRs are a formal request from a court to a foreign court for some judicial assistance. The high court in January had disposed of three petitions of Asthana, Kumar and Prasad by a common order in which the CBI was directed to complete investigation in the case within ten weeks.