New Delhi: After Central Bureau of Investigation special director Rakesh Asthana on Tuesday moved the Delhi high court against the lodging of an FIR against him in a bribery case, the court granted him relief from arrest till October 29.Earlier in the afternoon, Asthana had sought the high court’s direction that no coercive action be taken against him. His petition was mentioned before Chief Justice Rajendra Menon, who allocated the matter to an appropriate bench that will hear it in a post-lunch session.“This is a case of illegal registration of FIR. The person whose arrest was recommended by Asthana has now been made a complainant and based on his complaint this FIR has been filed. Any investigation without proper permission will be illegal,” Asthana’s counsel reportedly told the court.Responding to this allegation, the counsel for CBI said, “The charges very serious against the accused including that of bribery. Charges under the prevention of corruption act along with criminal conspiracy. Charges of extortion and forgery will be added.”Counsel for CBI says, ‘Charges very serious against the accused including that of bribery. Charges under prevention of corruption act along with criminal conspiracy. Charges of extortion and forgery will be added.’ #RakeshAsthana https://t.co/I0995p5aYj— ANI (@ANI) October 23, 2018The matter will now be heard on October 29 when CBI director Alok Verma will have to respond to the allegations levelled by Asthana, the court directed that no action can be taken against him till then.The court also directed the CBI to maintain status quo on the criminal proceedings initiated against Asthana. Although the CBI cannot arrest Asthana till October 29, the high court clarified that there is no stay on the probe considering the nature and gravity of the case.The CBI had yesterday arrested its deputy SP Devender Kumar in connection with bribery allegations involving the investigative agency’s second-in-command, Asthana.Kumar, earlier the investigating officer in a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi, was arrested yesterday by the CBI on the allegations of forgery in recording the statement of businessman Sathish Sana, who had alleged to have paid bribe to get relief in the case.In his statement, Sana had said that in June this year, he had discussed his case with Telugu Desam Party’s Rajya Sabha member C.M. Ramesh who, after speaking to the CBI director, had assured him that he would not be summoned again.Also read: Full Text of FIR Against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana for Bribery“From June onwards, I was not called by the CBI. I was under the impression that investigation against me is complete,” he is believed to have said.The CBI has now alleged that Kumar had fabricated this statement as an “afterthought…to corroborate the baseless allegations made by Asthana against Verma to the CVC (Central Vigilance Commissioner)”.They said the agency was also looking into the alleged role of other members of the special investigation team headed by Asthana.Asthana, who was booked by the agency on bribery charges in an unprecedented action, had complained against Verma on August 24, 2018.Also read: CBI vs CBI Reflects Rot at the Top of Political LeadershipThe fact that Asthana, number 2 in the premier investigating agency’s hierarchy, has not been arrested yet has raised several eyebrows. Though it registered an FIR against him and others a week ago for allegedly accepting bribes running into crores of rupees to settle a money laundering and corruption case involving businessman Moin Qureshi, the CBI has still not arrested the officer concerned. The fact that he is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has only deepened suspicions about political considerations coming into play.On Tuesday, as The Wire has reported, CBI director Alok Verma wrote to the PMO asking for Asthana to be suspended. He also wants Asthana repatriated to his parent Gujarat cadre as he is “unfit” to serve in the CBI. A formal communication to the PMO is significant as it creates direct accountability for the prime minister.Verma will retire in January and Asthana, is said to be Modi and Amit Shah’s choice to succeed him as director. In fact, even before Verma was appointed, Asthana officiated as CBI director for a few months.(With PTI inputs)