New Delhi, 08 October (H.S.): The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned until October 9 the hearing on a petition challenging the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against Rajbir Singh Ghumman, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

The matter was listed before a Bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu. At the outset of the hearing, Justice Datta said that the case files had reached the other judge, Justice Nagu, only late, leaving him insufficient time to study the matter. The Bench therefore decided to defer the hearing by a day.

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the Punjab government, urged the court to issue an interim order restraining the CBI from taking any precipitate or coercive action until the matter was heard. The Supreme Court, however, declined to grant any such interim relief at this stage.

The Punjab government has challenged the October 5 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which directed the CBI to investigate allegations of corruption relating to transfers and postings and tender-related matters involving the Chief Minister’s Office, based on inputs provided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The High Court had directed the investigating agency to submit a status report within two months.

Following the High Court’s order, the CBI registered an FIR in the matter and subsequently conducted searches at multiple locations across Punjab and Chandigarh. The agency’s action followed allegations conveyed by the ED concerning Ghumman and certain other individuals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar