Supreme Court Clears Path for CBI Probe in Ranchi Case, Deals Blow to Jharkhand Govt

New Delhi: In a significant setback for the Jharkhand government, the Supreme Court of India on Friday refused to halt a CBI investigation into an FIR filed against officials of the Enforcement Directorate in Ranchi.

A bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh dismissed the state government’s plea, which had challenged an earlier order of the Jharkhand High Court transferring the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, representing the state, urged the court to stay the probe, but the bench declined to grant any interim relief. With this decision, the CBI will continue its investigation without interruption.

The case originates from a complaint filed by Santosh Kumar, an employee of the state’s Drinking Water and Sanitation Department, who is also an accused in a money laundering case. He alleged that ED officials assaulted and mentally harassed him during questioning at their Ranchi office on January 12.

Following the complaint, an FIR was lodged at the Airport police station in Ranchi against ED personnel. The situation escalated when Ranchi Police took action at the ED office, prompting a strong response from the agency, which termed it unlawful interference and approached the High Court.

On March 11, Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi ordered that the probe be handed over to the CBI to ensure impartiality. The High Court also stayed the state police investigation and directed that security of the ED office be assigned to paramilitary forces.

Challenging this order, the Jharkhand government argued that the state police had jurisdiction over the matter. However, the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene has effectively upheld the High Court’s directive, allowing the central agency to proceed with its investigation.

With inputs from IANS