The Punjab and Haryana high court has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe following a preliminary report suggesting that the petitioner mentioned in an illegal mining case in Mahendergarh, neither knew about the petition nor had authorised filing of the plea.
Investigation and Response
On March 27, the court directed the state to obtain instructions in this regard. However, on April 16, a counsel appeared and sought to withdraw the plea. As the court was not satisfied with the reasons, the court sought the petitioner’s presence on April 24 and further sought to explain as to why he wishes to withdraw the petition.
The court recorded that in order to pressurise the petitioner, he has been implicated in a criminal case. A firm was also named in the plea. When he appeared, he claimed that he is illiterate and was not able to explain why the petition was filed and why it is being withdrawn.
The CBI preliminary probe had suggested that “neither the petitioner was aware with regard to filing of the writ petition nor he had actually instructed or authorised filing of any writ petition in the matter”, according to court proceedings. The court found that he is “absolutely clueless” about the case and further noted that even as he claims to be an illiterate, authorisation letter for filing of the plea has been signed in English. “It appears that somebody else is acting through the petitioner, and his signatures prima facie have been forged in the writ petition,” the court had said when calling for a preliminary report, which has now paved the way for a full CBI probe.
