Kriti Agrawal
The reasons for not completing the preliminary investigation are the investigation’s complexity, the CBI’s internal process of investigating a case at different stages, and unexpected delays due to the increase in Covid-19 cases.
Though it has been 15 days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) against former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on the orders of the Bombay High Court to investigate allegations of corruption and extortion, two people familiar with the development said on Tuesday that the agency may take a few more days to complete its investigation.
The reasons for not completing the preliminary investigation are the complex nature of the investigation, the CBI’s internal process of investigating a case at different levels, and unexpected delays due to the increase in Covid-19 cases, they said, adding that the agency does not want to hurry its investigation despite having recorded the statements of most key people in the last two weeks.
One of the officers said, “the Supreme Court order does not state that we must complete the preliminary enquiry (PE) within 15 days. It states that we must investigate the allegations as soon as possible, preferably in15 days.”
He further added, “as a general rule, the 15-day deadline, or any deadline issued by courts, to complete enquiries/investigations starts on the day the CBI receives the certified copy of that particular court’s order – in this case, the agency received the copy of the Bombay high court order on April 12, so we still have 5-6 days.”