The Supreme Court on Thursday deferred by a day the Punjab government's challenge to a Punjab and Haryana high court order directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a criminal case into alleged corruption linked to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's office.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu said the matter would be heard on Friday after senior counsel Vikas Singh, appearing for the Punjab government, sought an interim direction preventing the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) from “precipitating the matter”.
Justice Datta said no such interim order could be passed before Justice Nagu had an opportunity to examine the petition.
“How can we pass this order when the file did not reach the other judge,” Justice Datta told Singh.
The case file had not reached Justice Nagu, the puisne judge on the bench, in time. Singh agreed to the one-day deferment but pressed for an early hearing, following which Justice Datta agreed to list the matter on Friday.
The hearing also saw Singh raise a possible issue over Justice Nagu's participation. He pointed out that Nagu, while serving as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court, had dealt with some matters concerning petitioners in the present Supreme Court case, including Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav and the chief director. Singh, however, clarified that those proceedings were unrelated to the current case.
Justice Nagu said he would first have to examine the file before deciding whether he could hear the matter.
CBI investigation already under way
The Supreme Court proceedings came as the CBI moved ahead with the investigation ordered by the high court.
The agency registered a 251-page FIR around midnight on October 5 against Mann's Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Rajbir Singh Ghuman and five others. The accused named in the FIR are alleged middleman Nitin Gohal, his brother Jitin Gohal alias Raja, Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder and RS Nagra. The FIR also refers to unknown public servants and private persons.
The CBI has alleged that the accused operated an organised network through which IAS and IPS postings, departmental proceedings, policy formulation, administrative approvals, tender conditions, licensing, arms licences, land-use conversions, property disputes and revenue-related matters were allegedly manipulated in exchange for bribes.
The agency has further alleged that unreleased government notifications and draft policies were accessed and provided to private beneficiaries before their official issuance. The FIR, registered under provisions relating to criminal conspiracy and the Prevention of Corruption Act, covers alleged offences between 2023 and 2026. The agency has also referred to 61 alleged instances of wrongdoing flagged by the ED.
The CBI conducted searches at eight locations, including Ghuman's official residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh, which was being used as a camp office, and his ancestral home in Gharachon, Sangrur. Searches were also carried out at locations in Mohali, Gurdaspur, Ludhiana, Patiala and Jalandhar.
Electronic devices, including laptops and mobile phones, along with financial and administrative documents, were seized, according to officials.
The CBI has clarified that the search in Chandigarh was conducted at a residence being used by the chief minister's OSD and not at the Punjab chief minister's Secretariat.
Ghuman and five others skip questioning
Ghuman and the five other accused did not appear before the CBI at its Chandigarh office on Wednesday despite being summoned.
The Chief Minister's Office said Ghuman had not been formally served the summons. Sources also indicated that the accused had decided to wait for the Supreme Court to consider the Punjab government's challenge to the high court order.
The CBI's case includes alleged “cash-for-transfers” dealings. Investigators are examining WhatsApp chats and other material that allegedly point to monetary exchanges linked to the transfer and posting of government officials, including senior police officers.
How the case reached the high court
The case originated from three communications sent by the ED to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav between July 24 and August 12. The agency raised allegations of corruption involving Ghuman and others, claiming that Gohal acted as an intermediary between people seeking favours from the state government and Ghuman.
The alleged favours included transfers and postings, government approvals and arms licences.
The ED's communications emerged from a money-laundering investigation linked to alleged fake consent letters used for obtaining Change of Land Use approvals in a housing society case. The ED had conducted searches in May at premises linked to Gohal, Ajay Sehgal of the Indian Cooperative House Building Society and the Suntec City project, among others. The agency later submitted a 200-page affidavit before the high court in the matter.
Advocate Nikhil Saraf subsequently filed a public interest litigation, alleging that Punjab Police had failed to act on the ED's communications despite the seriousness of the allegations.
The Punjab and Haryana high court, on October 5, directed the CBI to register an FIR and conduct an investigation. It said the material supplied by the ED prima facie indicated the involvement of senior public officials and directed the Punjab government and police to provide full assistance to the central agency.
The court also directed the CBI to submit its investigation report within two months. The matter is scheduled to come up again before the high court on December 7.
Punjab government challenges CBI order
The Mann government approached the Supreme Court within hours of the high court order, arguing that the direction to register a CBI case had been issued without sufficient material to establish a cognisable offence.
The state has also raised concerns over the federal structure and the involvement of a central agency in investigating officials of a state government.
When the matter was first mentioned before Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Tuesday, senior counsel Vikas Singh sought an immediate hearing, arguing that the high court had ordered a CBI inquiry against state government officers without adequate material. The CJI declined to hear it that day but said the matter would be accommodated on Wednesday or Thursday.
The Supreme Court then took up the matter on Thursday but deferred substantive consideration until Friday so that both judges on the bench could examine the petition.
Political battle intensifies ahead of Punjab polls
The legal proceedings have unfolded against a politically charged backdrop, with Punjab's Assembly elections due early next year.
The Mann government has alleged that the CBI and ED are being used by the BJP-led Centre to target the state government. Mann has described the investigation as politically motivated, while the BJP has rejected the allegation and maintained that investigative agencies act independently.
The searches also became a political spectacle in Punjab. Villagers and local opposition workers were reported to have showered flower petals on the CBI team and distributed sweets during the search at Ghuman's residence.
Mann has also publicly criticised the action, alleging that central agencies were being deployed to target and defame his government ahead of the election.
The CBI, however, has maintained that its action follows the Punjab and Haryana high court's directions and is aimed at investigating allegations of corruption. Its investigation remains under way.