The Special CBI Court in Chandigarh has dismissed a contempt plea filed by Rajbir Singh Ghumman, Officer on Special Duty to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, ruling that the Central Bureau of Investigation did not willfully disobey the court’s order by uploading the First Information Report (FIR) on its official website.
Special Judge Bhawna Jain stated that the court’s earlier order temporarily exempting the CBI from uploading the FIR was intended solely to facilitate search operations and prevent destruction of electronic evidence. The judge clarified that this order did not impose a permanent ban on making the FIR public.
The contempt application accused senior CBI officials of politically motivated publication and media circulation of the FIR, which relates to a probe by the CBI’s Economic Offenses-II branch in New Delhi. The FIR was registered on October 5 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
On October 6, the CBI secured temporary relief from the court from mandatory FIR uploading, citing the sensitive nature of the case and the necessity to conduct searches without risking evidence destruction. Following completion of the search operations, the FIR was uploaded on October 7.
Represented by Senior Advocate Deepinder Singh and Ferry Sofat, Ghumman’s legal team argued the FIR was published without prior formal court permission and alleged its circulation aimed to gain political advantage and harm the state administration.
Public Prosecutor Narendra Singh countered that the temporary restriction was limited to preserving ongoing searches, and once concluded, the CBI was bound by Supreme Court guidelines in the Youth Bar Association of India case regarding FIR disclosures.
The court observed that the CBI was informed in open court that the FIR upload had occurred and found no evidence of willful court order violation. Consequently, the contempt plea was dismissed.