The Supreme Court has granted permission, in response to a series of petitions, for officers involved in investigating coal block allocation cases to return to their original cadres. This directive was issued following the submission of a report titled “Note on Administrative Issues” by Praveen Sood, Director of the CBI. The report presented the ongoing status of investigations and prosecutions related to the coal block allocation cases.
The report indicated that only one case remains pending investigation, and it is anticipated to conclude shortly. Previously, the Court had instructed that officers should not be transferred without prior authorization.
The IPS officers impacted by this decision include Vineet Vinayak (IPS:1995:SK), Amit Kumar (IPS:1998:CG), Keshav Chaurasia (IPS:2013:J&K), and Prem Gautam (IPS:2005:UP). Additionally, the decision will have ramifications for two Inspector rank officers, namely J R Katiyar and Rajbir Singh.
In the context of the case, the CBI had highlighted that since the investigative stage had significantly progressed, as evident from the status report, it would be suitable for senior officers and investigating officers to be returned to their original cadres. This move is prompted by their extended tenure of deputation.
