Thursday, May 19 2005 16:33 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today (May 19, 2005) issued notice to CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a petition by controversial godman Chandraswami seeking permission to travel abroad.

Justice R C Jain asked the two agencies to file their replies to the godman's plea by June 6, the next date of hearing.

As directed by Justice Jain, Chandraswami filed his itinerary in the court today disclosing that he wanted to travel to the US, UK, UAE and France.

Chandraswami, facing as many as 10 FERA cases, was denied permission to visit abroad in December last by a trial court after CBI revealed that it had collected "lots of evidence" against the godman in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Meanwhile, the court allowed his plea for being impleaded as a necessary party to a petition filed by local Congress leader Ramesh Dalal, who has sought re-opening of the probe into the murder of journalist Rajinder Jain, a witness before Justice M C Jain Commission that investigated the conspiracy angle of Gandhi's assassination.

The court gave more time to the Centre, CBI, Justice M C Jain and other respondents to respond to Chandraswami's plea for quashing of certain contents in the 'action taken report' on the recommendations of Jain Commission.

Terming the conclusions arrived at by the Jain Commission of Inquiry in its report as "baseless", he submitted that the same deserved to be quashed.