Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s OSD, Rajbir Singh Ghuman, has approached Punjab and Haryana high court, challenging the FIR registered by CBI against him in connection with allegations of influencing transfers, postings and official decisions, contending that the agency proceeded without prior approval of Punjab govt.Ghuman’s petition seeks quashing of the proceedings, the search-and-seizure that followed the FIR, and the search warrant issued by the special CBI court, Chandigarh.“There was no reason for CBI to conduct the search without sanction,” it says, adding, “The alleged list has been planted by CBI which initiated the investigation in an illegal manner with the intent to falsely implicate the petitioner.” He has sought stay of proceedings in the FIR and a direction from the court restraining coercive steps during pendency of the petition. The matter is expected to come up for hearing on Friday.Ghuman, who was appointed OSD to CMO in March 2022, is named as an accused in an FIR registered by CBI’s Economic Offences-II branch in New Delhi on Oct 5 under provisions of IPC, BNS and Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).In his petition, Ghuman contends that Section 17A PCA mandates prior govt approval before any inquiry or investigation against a public servant in discharge of official functions. No such approval was obtained before registration of the FIR, obtaining the search warrant or conducting of searches, he says.The petition refers to a July 30 communication from Enforcement Directorate to the Punjab DGP, based on WhatsApp chats and statements of co-accused Nitin Gohal.According to the petition, ED had opined that Gohal had “influenced transfers and postings of govt officers, policy decisions, amendments to departmental rules, administrative approvals, tender conditions, licensing matters, arms licences and land related matters through the petitioner”.Ghuman says in the petition that he was never given the communication and points out that according to an earlier HC judgment, Gohal had denied taking favours from him in transfers and policy decisions.Ghuman rejects the allegations as “baseless”, and asks why the search was conducted at his family residence in Gharachon, Sangrur, in the absence of him and his family members.Ghuman has also alleged that after the FIR was not initially uploaded on the CBI portal, the agency “leaked it in the media to gain public mileage”. Calling this unfair, his petition says that a “genuine investigation cannot be expected from CBI”.The petition also challenges the search on the ground that the search memo allegedly named only one independent witness from Chandigarh, rather than two independent and respectable inhabitants of the locality, as required under Section 103(4) of BNSS. The petition questions CBI’s authority in Punjab in view of withdrawal of the state’s general consent.
