HC rejects PIL for lodging criminal case against Nitish Kumar

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to CBI to register a case against former Railway Minister Nitish Kumar for alleged financial irregularities in extension of railway lines as well as procurements, suspecting the plea to be “motivated”.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice R S Endlaw noted that the issues raised in the petition had already been dealt with and disposed of in 2012 when the agency had submitted that an inquiry had been held and a report placed then before the Standing Committee of the Railways. 

The court also questioned why the petitioner has been “targeting” Nitish for the last nearly three years “by filing one proceeding after another” and said that he (petitioner) is “not entitled to second or third round of litigation on the same aspect”. 

“This Court in an order dated December 7, 2012 having observed that the records shown to it disclosed that a CBI inquiry was indeed conducted and the report of CBI was placed before the Standing Committee of the Railways, the contention today, of the inquiry having not been conducted and the report thereof having not been placed before the Standing Committee of the Railways, cannot be accepted. 

“The petitioner is thus not entitled to second or third round of litigation on the same aspect, as is being sought to be done. We have otherwise also inquired from the senior counsel for petitioner as to why the petitioner is targeting the respondent 7 (Nitish) for the last nearly three years by filing one proceeding after another… 

“No plausible answer has been forthcoming. We suspect the petition to be motivated and not in public interest and are not inclined to entertain the same on this ground also”, the court said. 

The petitioner, Mithlesh Kumar Singh, had argued that as per RTI replies no CBI inquiry was allegedly conducted nor any report placed before the Standing Committee of the Railways. 

He had already in 2011 and 2012 raised the issue of alleged financial irregularities in the Railways during Nitish Kumar’s tenure as its minister from 2001 to 2004. 

In his plea, Singh had sought a direction to the Ministry of Railways, the Prime Minister Office, the CBI Director and the Planning Commission of India to provide details of documents relating to purchase of jacks, appointment of candidates in the Railway Recruitment Board in Patna as well as alleged financial irregularities in extension of railway line and in procurement of concrete sleepers in Railways. 

He had also sought registration of a case against the former Bihar chief minister who had earlier served as the Railways Minister during the previous NDA government. 

Courtesy: PTI