Punjab Government: Challenges High Court CBI Probe Order for CM's OSD

Punjab government has moved the Supreme Court challenging Punjab and Haryana High Court's order directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register a criminal case to probe allegations of corruption linked to the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's office [State of Punjab v Nikhil Saraf]A Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the High Court order was filed by the government at around 1:42 am on Tuesday. Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, representing the State, today sought an urgent listing of the matter and referred to the upcoming assembly polls in the State. "I am appearing for the State of Punjab. These are all our officers. This is a case concerning transfers, postings and all those allegations. It is as if, during election time, these kinds of cases are being trumped up," he said.Singh added that the matter concerns the federal structure of the country. "There is urgency. Otherwise, it will really... The State is going into polls. It is a clear case concerning the federal structure, which is being violated. I am only saying there is some urgency. I would not have prayed otherwise," the senior counsel said.Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said the matter would be listed either on Wednesday or Thursday.A bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor at the High Court on Monday morning asked the CBI to file a report on its probe within two months.Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had asked the Punjab Police to register an FIR