Satyendra Singh Chauhan, J. - (1.) Heard Sri A.M. Tripathi, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Sanjeev Bhandari, learned counsel for the CBI.
(2.) This writ petition has been filed for quashing the Preliminary Enquiry No.01/18 dated 24.1.2018 of CBI, AC-II, New Delhi initiated against the petitioner and a further prayer has been made to restrain the opposite parties from proceeding any further in the preliminary enquiry instituted against the petitioner and commanding the opposite parties for not taking any action against the petitioner in pursuance to the said preliminary enquiry and also restrain the opposite parties from taking any action in pursuance to the preliminary enquiry report/ fact finding report, if any, submitted by Sri Bhanu Bhaskar, Joint Director, CBI against the petitioner.
(3.) The facts in short are that the petitioner belongs to the Central Bureau of Investigation (for short "the CBI") Cadre recruited through the Civil Services Examination 1995 conducted by the Union Public Service Commission and is presently posted as Superintendent of Police, CBI, Special Crime Branch, Lucknow since March 2017. When the petitioner was posted as Superintendent of Police, CBI, Economic Offences Wing, Ranchi during the period 2013 to 2017, a complaint was made on 1.4.2016 against the petitioner by Sarthak Ray Chaudhary, Vice President- HR, Whirlpool of India Limited, Gurgaon for generating a false and anonymous complaint against the Whirlpool Company to mount pressure upon the officers of the Company for taking back his brother in the service. A fact finding enquiry/ Preliminary Enquiry was initiated against the petitioner on the complaint dated 1.4.2016 lodged by M/s Whirlpool and reply of the petitioner to the allegations levelled in the said complaint was sought by the fact finding enquiry officer i.e. A.K. Singh, Joint Director, CBI, Kolkata Zone vide letter dated 8.3.2017. The petitioner submitted a detailed reply on 23.3.2017 to the allegations levelled in the said complaint. Thereafter, Sri A.K. Singh, Joint Director, CBI, Kolkata was repatriated to his parent department and the enquiry was entrusted to Sri Bhanu Bhaskar, Joint Director, CBI, Patna Zone. The new Enquiry Officer had also summoned the relevant records and examined the witnesses with respect to the enquiry, which had already been conducted by Sri A.K. Singh, Joint Director after taking comments/ reply of the petitioner dated 23.3.2017. A representation dated 18.1.2018 was sent by the petitioner to the Director, CBI regarding victimization by the higher officers of the CBI wherein a specific request was made by the petitioner for not taking any action on the recommendations of the new Enquiry Officer Sri Bhanu Bhaskar due to his bias and prejudice towards the petitioner. On 24.1.2018, a Preliminary Enquiry bearing No.01/18 dated 24.01.2018 of CBI, AC-II, New Delhi was registered against the petitioner, which is under challenge in the present writ petition.;