The Supreme Court told the CBI not to take coercive action against people linked to the Punjab government in the corruption probe. The interim protection keeps the FIR alive while testing the high court's push for an independent investigation.
Newdelhi,Oct 12, 2026 12:50 IST
The Supreme Court on Monday directed that no coercive action be taken by the CBI against people linked to the Punjab government in a probe into corruption allegations against senior officials. The order came while hearing the state government's plea against a high court direction asking the agency to investigate the allegations and submit a report within two months.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale issued notice to the Centre, the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate and others. Clarifying its order, the bench said, "We are not staying the FIR. We are saying no coercive steps may be taken." Senior advocates Vikas Singh and Sidharth Luthra appeared for the Punjab government.
Last Monday, the Punjab government moved the top court against the Punjab and Haryana High Court's direction on a petition filed by advocate Nikhil Saraf. The allegations include cash for transfers and cash for securing favourable policies.
The petitioner told the court that no action had been taken so far, even after the Enforcement Directorate sent communications to the Aam Aadmi Party government. It was argued that the allegations required an independent investigation as they raised serious questions about the functioning of the state government.
The high court had also directed the Punjab Police and the state government to hand over all documents related to the case to the CBI. Challenging that order on several grounds, the Punjab government said the judgment contained errors, including treating information shared under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as a direction that makes registration of a case "inevitable", which it said was contrary to the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary case.
The state also said the high court's judgment directed registration of an FIR into decisions of public servants on transfers, tenders and policy matters without the prior approval required under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. It further said the judgment faulted the bureau for not associating a serving officer whom it could not lawfully enquire into without such approval. For now, the Supreme Court has protected those linked to the Punjab government from coercive action while allowing the FIR to remain in place.
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