The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a Nainital High Court order which directed the CBI to register a case against the Uttrakhand CM in an alleged corruption case.

Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, representing the state government, criticised the High Court order before a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and comprising Justices M.R. Shah and R. Subhash Reddy.

Venugopal said the High Court has mixed up all grounds and the person against whom FIR is registered is bound to be heard especially in case of a person who holds a public office. He cited the Shivakumar case, where it was stated that since a person was not party in this case, investigation could not be ordered.

Justice Bhushan said such a drastic order was passed which took everybody by surprise and the CM was not even a party. Justice Shah also added the order took everybody by surprise.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday challenging the Nainital High Court, which ordered a CBI probe into the allegations by two scribes that in 2016, money was transferred into the accounts of his relatives to support appointment of a person as head of 'Gau Seva Ayog' of Jharkhand.

The top court raised the question on High Court passing order against the Chief Minister when the state government and the CM were not even the party in petition.

On Tuesday, the High Court passed the verdict on two separate petitions filed by the two journalists - Umesh Sharma and Shiv Prasad Semwal.

The journalists sought quashing of an FIR lodged against them, which registered in July this year under various provisions of the IPC relating to sedition, forgery, cheating, and criminal conspiracy.

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