Fodder case: Patna high court pulls up CBI

A division bench of the Patna high court Friday issued a show-cause notice to Central Bureau of Investigation Director Joginder Singh asking why contempt proceedings should not be commenced against him for not complying with its directive in the fodder scam inquiry. Singh has till April 10 to reply.

The bench, under direction from the Supreme Court, has been monitoring the CBI investigation into the the Bihar animal husbandry department's unaccounted expenses, allegedly to buy fodder, when Laloo Prasad Yadav was chief minister. The Supreme Court had wanted the probe monitored because pressure was being allegedly put on the CBI investigators.

The division bench, comprising Justices S N Jha and S J Mukhopadhaya, issued the directive after hearing the CBI's progress report on the scam. The bench wanted to know why the CBI director, who gave his final approval to the joint director to file a chargesheet in the case, later referred the matter to attorney general of India.

The judges said the matter could be referred to the attorney general only if there was a difference of opinion between the joint director and the CBI director, not otherwise. At whose instance, the judges asked the CBI counsel, had Singh referred the matter to the attorney general?

The court also observed that on December 11, 1996 the CBI director had given an assurance that the investigation into the conspiracy angle in the fodder scam would be completed in three months. Despite not completing the probe in the time promised, the director did not file a petition for extension of time, they said. He had not even responded to certain queries they sent to him, showing he was flouting the court's guidelines, the bench said.

The CBI counsel claimed the investigation was delayed because the Bihar legislative assembly had not yet handed over certain relevant documents regarding the fodder scam to the agency. The court issued "show-cause notices" on the secretaries of the assembly and the council asking under what provision of law they refused to give those documents. The reply is to be filed in the court by April 10 and the matter would be heard on April 11.

The counsel also complained that the Bihar government was not providing sufficient accommodation and vehicles for his officers. Additional Advocate General Shashi Anugrah Narain said the government would provide every possible facility to the CBI on request.

The CBI also informed the court a supplementary chargesheet was filed on Thursday against two legislators, namely Dr R K Rana and Dhrub Bhagat, and Girish Kumar Sinha, an officer of the animal husbandry department.

The court said the matter of the progress of the investigation would be heard again in the first week of May, meanwhile directing the CBI and the income-tax department to work in harmony to unearth where the money in the scam had gone.