Delhi court slams CBI for 'defiance' & 'veil of secrecy' over truth

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court hearing a Rs 2,435 crore bank fraud case pulled up CBI for its failure to produce the crime files, as directed earlier, saying the act of "clear-cut defiance and recalcitrance" indicated the agency wanted to keep the truth hidden under a "veil of secrecy".
"It appears that CBI has something material to conceal from court, to which they want to put a veil of secrecy, so that truth should never see the light of the day and remains embedded in the crime files," special judge Sanjeev Aggarwal of Rouse Avenue courts said.
In its order dated February 10, court noted that prima facie, the main and supplementary chargesheets showed the probe was done in a 'perfunctory & casual manner".
The remarks were made during a hearing in the case filed against CG Power and Industrial Solutions and its ex-promoter Gautam Thapar, based on a complaint lodged by SBI, which had an exposure of 12.81% in the default amount of Rs 2,435 crore, on behalf of a consortium of 11 other lender banks.
The court had on February 3 directed CBI to produce all the crime files.
Taking a serious view of the agency's non-compliance, the judge said any concealment or non-production of the files would only enhance the suspicion that CBI was trying to blot out something from court.
Court directed the head of CBI branch concerned to ensure that the investigating officer appeared with crime files during next hearing (February 21) "without fail".