Ex-CBI Head Nageswara Rao Apologises To Apex Court For Transferring Officer Probing Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Case

Former CBI interim chief M Nageswara Rao today filed an affidavit admitting that he committed "mistake" in transferring former joint director A K Sharma and apologised to the Supreme Court saying he had no intention to circumvent its orders.

Rao, was responding to a contempt notice issued to him on February 7. In the affidavit, he offered unconditional and unqualified apology to the apex court.

"I sincerely realise my mistake and while tendering my unqualified and unconditional apology, I specially state I have not wilfully violated the order of this court as I cannot even dream of violating or circumventing order of this court," he affirmed in the affidavit.

The Supreme Court on February 7 came down heavily on the CBI for transferring Sharma, who was probing Bihar's shelter home cases, out of the agency in violation of the court's order and had directed Rao to personally appear before it on February 12.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi took serious note of violation of two earlier orders of the apex court and issued contempt notice to Rao for transferring Sharma to the CRPF on January 17 without taking prior permission from the court. The contempt notice was issued by the bench while transferring the trial of Muzaffarpur shelter home cases from Bihar to Delhi.

The top court referred to its earlier orders in which it had asked CBI not to remove Sharma from the team probing Bihar shelter home cases.

Besides Rao, the bench also sought appearance of all other CBI officers who were involved in the transfer process of Sharma on February 12. It also directed for presence of S Bhasu Ram, in-charge Director of Prosecution CBI, for violating its order. Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur and the issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

(With PTI inputs)