Not under any pressure on 'coal-gate': CBI

Facing criticism for alleged toning down of its report filed before the Supreme Court on coal scam probe under political influence, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday said it is not under "any pressure from any quarter".

In a statement, the CBI on Tuesday said it is yet to file an affidavit, as directed by the Supreme Court, on behalf of Director Ranjit Sinha and would strictly abide by the directions of the apex court.

"Reports have been and are being, published/telecast in a section of the media, speculating about the nature and content of an affidavit to be filed by the CBI before the Supreme Court, in connection with the coal allocation probe. It is reiterated that the CBI is yet to file the said affidavit. The CBI will strictly abide by the directions of the Supreme Court, and is not under any pressure from any quarter," it said.

The agency filed a status report on March 8 with regards to its probe in the alleged irregularities in the coal allocation scam.

On March 12, after the submission of the CBI counsel before the Supreme Court that the status report in coal scam had not been shared with anyone, the apex court had directed the CBI director to file an affidavit that the status report submitted by the agency was "vetted by him and not shared with political executives" and the same will be followed in future.

The sources said such a statement became embarrassing for the agency after news reports claimed that the contents of the status report were shared with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and officials of the Prime Minister's Office.

The agency had not denied the alleged meeting between CBI officers and the law minister and reported toning down of the report.

Photograph: Reuters