Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat got some relief from the high court on on Tuesday after it granted a stay on his arrest in connection with a sting video that allegedly shows him offering bribes to rebel Congress legislators ahead of a state Assembly floor test, reported Hindustan Times. Justice Sudhansu Dhulia asked the CBI, which is investigating the case, not to take any coercive step against Rawat during the preliminary stage of its investigation, reported NDTV.
However, the court refused to intervene in the investigation itself, as Rawat had sought in a writ petition. Justice Dhulia asked Rawat to cooperate with the investigating agency in the case. The court also issued a notice to former Congress MLA Harak Singh Rawat in connection with a second sting conducted by him just before the floor test, which took place on May 11. He was questioned by the CBI for five hours on May 24, and he will have to appear for further interrogation on June 7.
After Rawat's victory in the floor test, the state government had asked the CBI to drop the case. However, the agency refused to oblige saying it was "not legally tenable". The 68-year-old has admitted to being present in the video shot as part of the sting, which was conducted by a private news channel, and asked if meeting a journalist was a crime.
The Home Ministry had sent the footage to the CBI for investigation. The CM had also approached the High Court, seeking dismissal of the CBI investigation, but the court rejected his plea.
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