The Delhi High Court on Wednesday set aside the order of the trial court directing the CBI to release the documents seized during the raid at the office of Rajendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on December 15 2015.
Justice PS Teji said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will retain the documents seized by it during the raid. “Claim of the CBI to retain the documents justified,” it added.
The court’s order came on a CBI plea challenging a trial court order directing the probe agency to release the documents.
The Aam Aadmi Party government had told the court that the CBI was trying to give a “political colour” to the raid and that the agency acted under “political pressure” to indiscriminately seize the documents.
The CBI, however, said the documents seized from the office of Rajendra Kumar “prima facie reflect criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct and abuse of official position by the accused people”.
Defending the seizure of documents from the office of Rajendra Kumar, located next to the Chief Minister’s office in the Delhi Secretariat, the agency had said the proper procedure for the search was followed.
The decision to raid was not influenced by any political party and “the colour given by the AAP government is unwarranted,” it added.
The CBI said it raided the Delhi Secretariat while investigating corruption charges against Rajendra Kumar.
Kejriwal claimed his office was raided too, and linked it to a probe he had ordered against Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on issues related to alleged corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) which Jaitley had led earlier.
The CBI denied searching Kejriwal’s office.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)