Former Interim CBI Chief Nageshwar Rao on Tuesday was contempt of court and fined ₹1 lakh by the Supreme Court for transferring a CBI officer who was in charge of the Muzaffarpur shelter abuse probe despite a freeze on transfers. Additional Legal Advisor S Bhasuran was also held guilty for the same offence and imposed Rs 1 lakh fine. The two were sentenced till the rising of the court.
CBI Former Interim Chief Nageshwar Rao appeared before the Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi complying with SC’s earlier order with respect to Muzaffarpur shelter home case.
CJI Ranjan Gogoi said ‘Contempt has been committed. So there will be a mark on his( former interim CBI Director M Nageshwar Rao) career’.
Attorney General KK Venugopal who appeared for CBI before the Top Court said ‘He has an unblemished track record of 32 years. Please kindly adopt the merciful approach as he has tendered apologies’. KK Venugopal accepted in SC that it was a series of mistakes. ‘They have unconditionally apologized and they have not done at this wilfully’.
READ: Muzaffarpur Shelter Case: Former Interim CBI Chief Nageshwar Rao apologizes to SC for transferring Probing Officer
Former CBI Interim Chief Nageshwar Rao on Monday tendered Unconditional Apology to Supreme Court
for transferring AK Sharma, the Officer who was probing the Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Case, without having permission from the Top Court.
‘I ought not have agreed with the legal advice for relieving AK Sharma even on his promotion without prior approval of SC’, Rao said in his apology.
Earlier on February 7, Supreme Court seek personal appearance on February 12 of former interim CBI director M Nageswara Rao and one other official charge of Director Prosecution, associated in the transfer of CBI officer AK Sharma probing Muzaffarpur shelter home case.
READ: Interim CBI chief Nageshwar Rao reverses transfer orders issued by Alok Verma; claim Sources
Supreme Court said that former CBI interim director M Nageswara Rao has prima facie committed contempt of court by transferring CBI officer AK Sharma, who was probing Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case, without taking court’s consent.
The Top Court also transferred the trial of Muzaffarpur shelter home case to Saket POCSO Court, Delhi from Patna. The Court has ordered the judge to commence the trial in 2 weeks and complete it within a period of 6months.
The Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Abuse Case had hit headlines in July was only one of the 17 shelter homes covered in a TISS study. But criminal cases have only been registered against 10 shelter homes. In one case, TISS found sexual violence at a shelter home for boys but the FIR filed by the government does not include stringent penal code provisions such as sodomy.
In another case, a child who refused to cook food suffered a three-inch long scar on his cheek. In both cases, the police only filed a case under the juvenile justice law.
ALSO READ:
- Supreme Court transfers the trial of Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Case to Delhi Court; raps CBI, Bihar Govt
- SC transfers probe into Bihar Shelter homes case to CBI
- A tussle between CBI vs West Bengal Police continues: Kolkata Police raids offices linked with Nageshwar Rao