Court quizzes CBI on delay in probe and arrests in ICICI-Videocon case

Senior advocate Raja Thakare appearing for CBI justified the arrest of Kochhars and submitted that there was a charge of conspiracy against the accused and the Investigating Officer has material against the accused and they were arrested after complying with all legal procedures.

Thakare submitted that an investigation is scuttled if the accused does not answer pertinent questions and the same was the case mentioned by the agency in its arrest memo that there were non-cooperation and evasive replies by the accused. He added that nonetheless, the probe would have continued with supporting documents, but same would not be proper and custodial interrogation was required.

Thakare said that the local police often say that their probe starts with the accused first and later leads to the offence/crime. “However, CBI investigation starts from the going into the offence first and then it reaches the accused,” the advocate added.

“How many convictions are there in CBI cases? How many saw the light of day? Who is responsible for the delay? Why so many years for this (probe and arrest)?” Justice Mohite-Dere questioned.

Thakare responded that the conviction rate was good and decent and due to the Covid-19 pandemic there was a “slowdown”. He added that the magnitude of cases before CBI and insufficient staff are also to be considered. He also added that sometimes witnesses forget their statements or turn hostile, their memory fades and delay in the probe takes place, despite this, the agency has a decent conviction rate.