SC warns CBI against eyewash in probe into builders, bankers

NEW DELHI: Questioning CBI for filing a chargesheet against financial institution officials and builders, for allegedly cheating homebuy-ers, without custodial interrogation, Supreme Court on Wednesday told the agency that no one should be treated as above the law and asked it to complete the probe in a time-bound manner.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said all those builders who had siphoned off homebuyers' earnings sho-uld be arrested to find out where the money went and it should be recovered and refunded. The bench also expressed displeasure over the slow progress of CBI's probe.

"How can you file a chargesheet without holding a custodial interrogation? This will lead to an eyewash," the bench said.

In view of the rising number of such cases across the country, additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati submitted that some should be probed by state police. SC rejected this plea, saying that permitting a parallel probe would lead to chaos. The court said if the state police had been competent, it would not have handed over the probe to CBI.

SC said CBI could not wriggle out of the case and let down the millions of homebuyers who were suffering. "We disapprove of the stand taken by CBI," the bench said, and allowed the agency to seek assistance from state DGP personnel and logistics support.

"As of now we do not want to comment on the probe undertaken by CBI but all that we want to observe is that no one should be treated above the law and investigation must be brought to a logical conclusion," the bench said.

The court asked CBI to give a time frame by which the probe would be completed as it could not go on indefinitely. It asked a competent officer of the agency to file an affidavit. "This court cannot wait for an indefinite period for the conclusion of the investigation... any delay will only lead to more agony for the homebuyers who have already been harassed by the builders and developers, apparently in collusion and connivance with financial institutions and banks," it said.

The court also clarified that affected parties, including homebuyers, banks and builders, should submit their claims, suggestions and recommendations to the amicus curiae, who would then examine them and place appropriate material before the court.

It directed CBI to carefully examine the report submitted by amicus curiae Rajiv Jain last year, particularly the areas of investigation identified in it.

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