"Where is CBI's reply?" SC questions in plea for probe against RBI Officials in banking scams
On the last hearing, Dr. Swamy had apprised the bench that there existed a representative Director of RBI who was not included in any part of the prosecution even though he was a party to every decision.
The Supreme Court today questioned as to why the Central Bureau of Investigation had not filed its reply in the plea moved by Dr. Subramanian Swamy and Advocate Satya Sabharwal seeking CBI inquiry into the role of Reserve Bank of India officials in various banking scams.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath thus directed the parties to file their pleadings.
The matter will now be taken up on March 20, 2023.
When the matter was taken up, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, appearing in person, submitted before Court, "I want to know if CBI will be filing a counter".
This submission was made in the backdrop of the previous hearing wherein Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had informed Court that CBI will not be filing its response in the instant plea.
SG Mehta had then submitted that while the relevant agency is investigating and if there's complicity from RBI officials, they will also be investigated. There can't be a separate set of investigations for one set of officers only, he had said.
The plea alleged that the involvement of RBI officials in scams involving various entities such as Kingfisher, Bank of Maharashtra, and Yes Bank had not been probed.
Swamy's plea also placed reliance on information obtained under the Right to Information Act, 2005 which purportedly revealed that no officer of the Reserve Bank had even been "held accountable" for any "dereliction of duty in case of any fraud reported by any bank".
It was further contended that RBI officials had acted in "demonstrable active connivance" in direct violation of statutes such as the Reserve Bank of India Act, Banking Regulation Act, and State Bank of India Act.
Case Title: Dr. Subramanian Swamy vs. CBI