Breaking: SC Directs Hyderabad Police To Provide Adequate Security To Satish Sana, The Complainant Against Rakesh Asthana [Read Petition]

A three Judge Bench of Supreme Court on Tuesday directed  the Hyderabad Police to provide adequate security to Satish Sana, the original complainant in the alleged bribery case against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana.

The Bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices U U Lalit and K M Joseph refused to stay CBI summons against Sana.

The Bench has also also rejected his plea for recording of his statement in presence of retired former SC judge A K Patnaik.

Sana, on whose complaint an FIR was registered against the CBI Special Director, had moved the apex court on Monday seeking police protection and a stay on the notice issued by the agency summoning him for interrogation.

Hyderabad based businessman Satish Sana had contended that Asthana accepted a bribe of Rs. 2 Crore by way of consideration for giving Sana a clean chit in the case relating to meat trader Moin Qureshi, resulting in the registration of a CBI FIR against Asthana.

On October 23, while the CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma was divested of his powers by orders of the CVC as well as the Central government, Asthana was sent on a leave, the interim charge of the Director’s office being assigned to Mr. Rao.

Subsequently, on October 26, the top court issued a string of interim measures-

• the inquiry in respect of the allegations made in the note of the cabinet secretary as regards the present CBI director Alok Verma shall be completed by the CVC within a period of two weeks;

• The inquiry will be conducted under the supervision of a retired judge of the apex court, Justice A. K. Patnaik;

• Mr. M. Nageshwar Rao, who has been entrusted with the task of looking after the duties of the CBI director, shall from now on not take any policy or major decisions and will only perform the routine processes to keep the CBI functioning; and

• A list of all decisions taken by Mr. Rao between October 23 and today and after this hour, including transfers of investigations, change of Investigating Officers etc will be furnished to this court in a sealed cover on November 12.