The Supreme Court ordered the CBI to register a case in the 2002 Hindustan Zinc disinvestment case.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday ordered registration of a regular case by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in alleged irregularities in the disinvestment of the government’s controlling stake in Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) in 2002.
However, the top court allowed the disinvestment of the remaining 29.5 per cent stake of the Center in the open market. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna observed that the recommendation of various CBI officers to convert the preliminary inquiry into the disinvestment of HZL in 2002 into a regular case satisfies the discretion of the court that prima facie a case is made out.
It took note of the fact that despite the recommendation to register a regular case in the alleged irregularities in disinvestment in 2002, the preliminary inquiry was closed and directed that the CBI should register a regular case and the agency would file its periodic status report. . to the court.
The bench, however, directed the central government to disinvest 29.5 per cent of its residual stake in the open market, observing that after 2002, HZL ceased to be a government company.
It said that after the disinvestment of shares in 2002, the control of the erstwhile PSU company of the Central Government had ceased to exist.
,