A Bench headed by Chief Justice Rajender Menon of Delhi High Court while dismissing two petitions filed by former Police Commissioner of Delhi Neeraj Kumar and Inspector Vinod Pandey has directed Special Cell of Delhi Police to register forthwith two FIRs against them to be investigated by an ACP level officer.
With the Division Bench of Delhi High Court dismissing petitions of Neeraj Kumar and upholding the findings of Single Judge against these CBI officers, decks have been cleared after 12 years for registration of first ever FIR against the former Delhi Police Commissioner to be investigated by Delhi Police.
Investigation has been ordered to be completed within two months.
Neeraj Kumar and Vinod Pandey had challenged two orders of Justice R.C. Jain in Delhi High Court passed in June, 2006 severely deprecating their conduct for fabricating documents and getting them signed from one accountant Sheesh Ram Saini under pressure and issuing threats during course of investigation in a CBI case against former Deputy Director of Enforcement Ashok Aggarwal.
In another order passed in June, 2006, Delhi High Court had also ordered registration of second FIR against Neeraj Kumar and Vinod Pandey for summoning Vijay Aggarwal, younger brother of Ashok Aggarwal with oblique motives and in violation of order passed by Special Judge and for torturing, humiliating and harassing him in wrongful confinement in CBI office.
At the relevant time, Neeraj Kumar was working as Joint Director in CBI and Vinod Pandey as Inspector. High Court had held that the conduct of these officers constituted criminal offences and was an onslaught on the life and liberty of these persons. High Court had also held that investigation in the case had been done in padded manner and by such conduct, these officers had shaken the very edifice of the criminal prosecution and Courts cannot accept such padded investigation.
The Division Bench of Delhi High Court by dismissing petitions of Neeraj Kumar has upheld the findings of Single Judge against these CBI officers and cleared decks after 12 years for registration of first ever FIR against a former Delhi Police Commissioner to be investigated by Delhi Police.
It is relevant that because of these two orders of Delhi High Court ordering registration of two FIRs against Neeraj Kumar, his name had earlier been rejected by Central Vigilance Commission for the post of Director of the CBI. However, later on, Neeraj Kumar was posted as Delhi Police Commissioner.
The CBI had earlier registered the above case against Ashok Aggarwal, an IRS officer who while working as Deputy Director of Enforcement in 1996 was supervising investigation against highly powerful FERA accuseds. Aggarwal has already been exonerated by Delhi High Court in January, 2016 concluding that the CBI had filed cases against Aggarwal out of ‘intentional mischief’ and investigation was conducted in most malafide manner in order to implicate Aggarwal falsely and to ensure that FERA accused go scot free. Delhi High Court had also held that Aggarwal was made to undergo humiliation and sufferings for more than 16 years.
In February this year, Supreme Court also dismissed a petition filed by Ministry of Finance challenging another order of Delhi High Court whereby the order of Central Administrative Tribunal granting all consequential benefits to Ashok Aggarwal including his promotions at par with his juniors had been upheld. High Court in its judgment had held that Ministry of Finance was also not lagging behind in harassing Aggarwal. After dismissal of petition of Ministry of Finance, Ashok Aggarwal is being promoted as Chief Commissioner of Income Tax.
