Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has approached the Supreme Court challenging the orders of the Allahabad High Court that directed the CBI and ED to verify allegations that he possesses assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
NEW DELHI — Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has approached the Supreme Court challenging the orders of the Allahabad High Court that directed the CBI and ED to verify allegations that he possesses assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Rahul Gandhi's petition is scheduled to be heard on August 17 by a Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant.
The Congress leader has challenged the Allahabad High Court's orders passed in connection with a complaint filed by Vignesh Shishir, a BJP worker from Karnataka, alleging disproportionate assets against Gandhi.
In its order issued in May, the Allahabad High Court had observed that if the complaint had indeed been received by the concerned agencies, the allegations contained in it should be verified in accordance with law.
The court had further noted that the CBI and the ED were at liberty to take appropriate action as warranted under the legal framework.
Subsequently, during a hearing on July 20, the High Court expressed dissatisfaction with an affidavit filed by the CBI, stating that it did not adequately comply with the directions issued earlier by the court.
At the same time, the High Court took note of the steps initiated by the Enforcement Directorate and observed that the agency could proceed in accordance with law if any actionable information emerged during the verification or investigation.
Besides CBI and ED, the Allahabad High Court bench also directed the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the revenue department, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Director of Serious Fraud Investigation Office to file responses to the petitioner's allegations.
Apart from challenging the High Court's directions, Rahul Gandhi has also filed a separate transfer petition before the Supreme Court, seeking transfer of the proceedings from the Allahabad High Court to the Delhi High Court.
The Allahabad High Court is scheduled to hear the matter on August 20.