Sharma stays as long as HC says: Shinde

A day after the Bombay High Court asked former DGP S. S. Puri to investigate if Police Commissioner R.S. Sharma was involved in the multicrore fake stamp scandal, Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde was not in a mood to intervene in the matter, saying the case was sub judice.

Asked whether Sharma would be shifted during the probe, Shinde said on Thursday his government would abide by the court order. ‘‘At the moment, there is no proposal, but we will abide by the court order. Since the court is seized of the case, it will be improper for me to comment on the case,’’ he said.

Sharma has welcomed Puri’s appointment. ‘‘From the day the probe began, I had been requesting the government to appoint an officer senior to me to investigate the case. However, a junior officer was chosen. Now that an officer of the stature of Puri has been entrusted with the probe, I am satisfied,’’ Sharma said.