CBI to hear petitioner who filed DA case against Rahul Gandhi next week

The CBI has asked BJP member Vignesh Shishir to appear before it on Monday in connection with his complaint alleging accumulation of disproportionate assets by Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

When asked about the development, Shishir told the PTI over phone that he has been called to the CBI office. He, however, refused to provide any further details, maintaining that the matter was sub judice.

On May 12, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court conducted a two-hour-long in-chamber hearing of the case.

In its order made available on the high court's website on May 14, the division bench of Justices R S Chauhan and B R Singh said the CBI has informed that it had received the petitioner's complaint and would file its response in the court within eight weeks.

In a criminal writ petition, Shishir has levelled allegations against Gandhi, stating that the Congress leader has accumulated disproportionate assets. The petition sought enquiries by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the matter.

In an earlier order, a division bench of Justices R S Chauhan and B R Singh had observed, "It is expected that if the complaint of the petitioner, Shishir, has been received, the allegations of the complaint may be verified as per law. It is needless to say that the CBI or ED may take appropriate steps that are permissible under the law."

Besides the CBI and the ED, the bench had also directed the Central government's Department of Personnel and Training, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Director of Serious Fraud Investigation Office to file their responses within eight weeks to the allegations levelled by the petitioner against Gandhi.