The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a public interest petition seeking CBI probe into the alleged links of an Assam minister with the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and his alleged complicity in the killings of migrant workers. The petition filed by BJP MP Sukhdeo Paswan alleged that Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was facing charges under terrorism law and had several criminal cases pending against him but he was using his political position and influence to subvert the law. On the observation by a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan and Justices R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari that the petitioner could approach the Gauhati High Court in the matter, senior advocate C D Singh, appearing for Paswan, withdrew the PIL.Earlier, counsel for the minister, K K Venugopal, questioned the maintainability of the petition listing a number of criminal cases against the minister.It said Sarma in one case had allegedly extorted over Rs 90 lakh for the banned outfit. For the said offence he was allegedly booked under the TADA and Arms Act in 1991 at the Pan Bazar Police Station, Guwahati.
