Uttarakhand HC directs CBI to register FIR, probe corruption allegations against Trivendra Singh Rawat

In a jolt to Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, the high court on Tuesday ordered the CBI to file an FIR over allegations of corruption against him. Issuing the order, Justice Ravindra Maithani also said all documents related to the case be submitted before the court. Umesh Sharma, a journalist, had filed a petition in the court, seeking quashing of an FIR lodged against him for a social media post, in which he had claimed that one Amritesh Chauhan from Jharkhand deposited money after demonetisation into the bank account of Rawat’s relatives. According to Live Law, the petitioner had alleged that Chauhan wanted Rawat to back him for the post of the head of the Gau Sewa Aayog. Rawat was then the BJP’s Jharkhand in-charge. The high court also quashed an FIR against a journalist who made the allegations in a social media post. One of the charges in the FIR was that of sedition, which was also quashed. In this regard, the court said that addition of the sedition charge showed that an attempt is being made to “muzzle the voice of criticism” and it is “beyond comprehension why the section was added.” “Whatever the allegations against the petitioner, they do not remotely connect with section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code. An offence under Section 124-A IPC is not, prima-facie, made out. Why this section is added, it’s beyond comprehension. Whatever is stated on behalf of the state, on this aspect, has no merit at all,” the order said. The Uttarakhand chief minister’s relative Harendra Singh Rawat had filed a case on 31 July at a police station in Dehradun against Sharma, accusing him of blackmailing. He claimed that the allegations were false and baseless and Sharma had forged the bank statements. Senior Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibal pleaded on behalf of Sharma. With inputs from PTI