Shimla, Oct 1 (IANS) The Himachal Pradesh High Court Friday turned down Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh’s petition for transfer of a corruption case against him from the state police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A division bench of Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Deepak Gupta, said it is neither an appropriate case nor in a stage to grant the prayer to transfer the investigation to the CBI and dismissed the petition.
It is for the appropriate special judge of the trial court to consider all the pleas raised by Virbhadra Singh, the court said.
In the petition, the minister said that after Prem Kumar Dhumal became Himachal Pradesh chief minister in December 2007, the government registered a case against him and his wife Aug 3, 2008, under the Prevention of Corruption Act on the basis of an audio CD released by his political adversary Vijai Singh Mankotia.
According to police, Virbhadra Singh was heard allegedly referring to some monetary transactions in a phone call with Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Mahinder Lal, who is now dead. The CD also contained the voices of his wife and some industrialists.
