CHANDIGARH — The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate corruption and administrative interference allegations forwarded by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) concerning government operations in Punjab. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor ordered the central agency to take necessary action and file a status report within two months. The court made clear that the allegations remain subject to investigation and have not been conclusively established against the named individuals.
The judicial intervention stems from three formal communications previously sent by the ED to Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav, requesting the registration of a First Information Report (FIR). The central agency had flagged suspected irregularities and interference involving an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, along with private individuals including Nitin Gohal and Bir Devinder, regarding official transfers, postings, government contracts, and administrative files.
With the Punjab Police taking no action to register an FIR following the ED’s communiqués, advocate Nikhil Saraf moved the High Court via a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking an independent inquiry by the CBI. The Bench, having earlier observed that the agency’s claims warranted a structured institutional response, transferred the matter to the CBI amid ongoing wider inquiries by the ED into administrative and land-related approvals in the state.
Reacting to the ruling, Punjab Cabinet Minister and AAP Punjab president Aman Arora affirmed that the state government respects the court’s directives.
