Greater High Court Bench to investigate whether State may revoke order transfer investigation to CBI

Is it possible for a state to stop notifying the CBI to conduct an investigation after it has filed a normal case, or is the top investigative agency the only one allowed to submit the case’s final report? A bigger bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court will consider this and three other important legal issues.

Considering a petition submitted by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda, Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj claimed that two “single” benches had differing opinions about the sanctity and validity of the notification, as well as the enforceability of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha’s resolution to revoke the CBI’s investigation.

There were also other related problems arising from the opposing viewpoints. According to me, a single bench of this court would not be the best place to assess the validity of previous rulings made by’single’ benches. In order to create a more suitable and broader bench, the Registry is thus instructed to post a reference on the issues brought up before the Acting Chief Justice. According to Justice Bhardwaj,.

The other questions concerned whether the state legislature could direct the state executive to conduct an investigation in a criminal case through or by a particular agency, and if so, whether exercising that authority would be equivalent to steering the investigation.

In a subsequent petition brought before the high court by another accused, the larger bench would also consider whether the principle of “sub-silentio” (in silence) would apply when the court upheld the withdrawal notice in a subsequent petition filed by another accused who was harmed by the same notification, or whether it serves as a binding precedent for all accused. The Supreme Court had kept open a question of law while dismissing a special leave petition. Ram Rahim has contested the legality of the State of Punjab’s September 6, 2018, notice, which withdrew the permission granted to the CBI to look into three false police reports pertaining to sacrilege.

Differences in viewpoints

Considering a petition from the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda, Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj claimed that two “single” benches had differing opinions about the sanctity and validity of the notification, as well as the enforceability of the Vidhan Sabha’s resolution to rescind the CBI investigation.