SC turns down Mulayam petition

The Supreme Court today refused to stay the order directing a CBI inquiry against Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family, for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income.

The Supreme Court today refused to stay the order directing a CBI inquiry against Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family, for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income. 8220;How can an interim application lie if a matter is disposed of?8221; asked the Bench comprising Justice A R Lakshmanan and Altamas Kabir, refusing to hear the application.

Besides seeking a stay on the CBI inquiry order, the application also sought transfer of the probe to a retired Supreme Court or high court judge.

The court said the only remedy available to the applicant was to file a petition seeking a review of the verdict.

Unwilling to accept the submission by Yadav8217;s counsel Altaf Ahmed that there were several instances in the past when the court had heard such applications, the Bench remarked, 8220;The matter is finished. You cannot file an interim application.8221;

On Monday, Yadav had filed an application seeking modification of the March 1 order, questioning the credentials of the CBI for holding a probe against him. He alleged that the PIL on which the Supreme Court had passed its direction was a 8220;proxy litigation8221; being fought on behalf of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. Mulayam also said the CBI 8220;is no longer an independent agency and often acts only to serve the interests of the party in power at the Centre8221;.

On March 1, the apex court had directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the assets of the UP CM, his sons Akhilesh who is an MP and Pratik, and daughter-in-law Dimple. The SC had observing that it would be in their interest 8220;to have their honour vindicated by establishing that the allegations are not true8221; .

As per the order, the CBI will conduct an inquiry into the allegations levelled against the Chief Minister and submit its report to the Centre which will take further steps, depending on the outcome of the probe.The PIL has been filed by Vishwanath Chaturvedi, a UP resident and an advocate.