Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on Friday challenged in the High Court the FIR that the CBI had lodged against him for allegedly attempting to buy the support of rebel Congress MLAs in 2016.
In an FIR on October 23, the CBI booked Rawat, his then Cabinet colleague Harak Singh Rawat — now a minister in the state’s BJP-led government — and Umesh Sharma, editor of Noida-based Samachar Plus TV.
The CBI has charged the trio under IPC sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy and bribery and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI’s FIR was based on the findings of a preliminary inquiry launched in April 2016 following a “sting operation” video that purportedly showed Rawat discussing a pay-off with Harak Singh in lieu of the support of rebel Congress MLAs.
The matter was heard by the bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia on Friday. After the hearing, Rawat’s lawyer said, “We have filed an amendment application to challenge the FIR. The CBI opposed it but the court has allowed the amendment and has fixed January 7 as next date of hearing.”