SC stops monitoring probe against Kripashankar Singh, family

The Supreme Court put an end to the investigation monitored by it against former Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh and his family members for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets and left it to the trial court to consider supplying final report to activists on whose public interest litigation the probe was ordered.

"We make it clear if an application is filed by the writ petitioners (activists) seeking final report before the magistrate, the final report or closure report will be filed by the investigating agency before the magistrate who will consider the same in accordance with law," a bench comprising justices H L Dattu and M Y Eqbal said.

Disposing of the petition filed by Singh and his family members, it asked the apex court registry to transmit all the reports filed before it in a sealed cover from time to time to the Maharashtra government's counsel Shekhar Naphade for taking further action.

The bench, however, did not accept the plea of the state government that the petitioners should be restrained from making any further allegations against the police authorities in connection with the case as they had made in the writ petition before the Bombay high court.

Singh's counsel Mukul Rohatgi submitted that since the investigation was complete, the apex court should put an end to the probe which was being monitored by it. Senior advocate U U Lalit and Vivek Tankha, appearing for Congress leader's relatives also adopted the same submission.

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, appearing for PIL petitioners Sanjay Tiwari and others, submitted that they should be permitted to have the copy of the final report or closure report which may be filed by the investigators.

In case a closure report is filed by the investigators then Tiwari and others may prefer protest petitions, he said. Singh had resigned as Mumbai Congress chief after the Bombay high court on February 22, 2012 directed the city police commissioner to prosecute him and his family members for criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Congress leader and his family members had approached the apex court which on March 13, 2012, had refused to stay the investigation against them but had put an interim stay on the process of attaching and seizure of their properties. It had asked the Mumbai police commissioner to conduct an independent probe and collect documentary evidence regarding all movable and immovable properties of Singh and his family, including his wife, son, daughter-in-law and daughter while seeking a report in a sealed envelop.

It also restrained the politician and his family members from "alienating, transfer or dealing with properties" enumerated in the petition against them during the pendency of the case in the court for which an undertaking was taken.

Challenging the high court's order, they said it was passed on a petition that was politically motivated. The high court had passed the order on a public interest litigation filed by activist Sanjay Tiwari and others, who alleged that the Congress MLA had amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.  They had submitted that the high court had passed the directions after going through the list of properties acquired by the former Mumbai Congress chief in the short span between 2004 and 2006.

Tiwari had claimed in the petition that Singh had been close to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who was allegedly involved in a multi-crore hawala scam.