SC grants CBI three more months to probe coffin scam

New Delhi, Jan 15 (UNI) The Supreme Court today granted three months additional time to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to complete its investigation in the Rs 1762 crore Kargil war coffin scandal.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices D K Jain and H S Bedi acceded to the request of Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium for granting more time to complete the investigation and adjourned the matter till the second week of April.

The apex court is hearing a PIL alleging illegal payments made to some top bureaucrats in the defence ministry in the infamous coffin scam, which also involved the then defence minister George Fernandes.

Out of 55 cases filed, the defence ministry had handed over the charge of 48 cases to the CBI for investigation.

The scam was exposed by a report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and a sting operation carried out by news portal, Tehelka.

UNI