PTI

New Delhi

The Supreme Court has directed the CBI to take necessary administrative steps to ensure no delay in filing of appeals and said an IT-based monitoring mechanism should be adopted to facilitate proper
supervision.

Noting that there was a delay of 647 days in filing a petition by the probe agency against a Chhattisgarh High Court order in June 2019, the apex court observed that the explanation given by the CBI was “clearly insufficient”.

The court dismissed on the grounds of delay the CBI plea against the acquittal of accused in a corruption case.

“The CBI is directed to take all necessary administrative steps to ensure that these kinds of delays do not occur in future. Delays in the part of the concerned officials in moving the appeals within the stipulated period of limitation is liable to cause grave misgivings on the reasons of delay,” a bench of justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah said in its order
last week.

It said the proposition that the delay was caused by the onset of Covid do not explain the entire period of delay as the high court had delivered the verdict in June 2019 while the pandemic started
in March 2020.

The bench said the court must have due regard to the nature of explanation in determining whether a case for condoning the delay in filing the special leave petition is made out.

“We, therefore, direct that necessary administrative steps be taken by the CBI to ensure that the filing of the appeals and other steps required in law is duly monitored, preferably on an ICT (information and communications technology) platform so that such delays do not occur,” the bench said, while dismissing the plea on the ground
of delay.

It also observed that a mechanism involving ICT should be adopted to facilitate proper monitoring and supervision.