Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 13: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad High Court orders directing the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to verify allegations that he possesses assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Gandhi's petition is scheduled to come up for hearing on August 17 before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant.

The Congress leader has challenged the Allahabad High Court orders passed in connection with a complaint filed by Vignesh Shishir, a BJP worker from Karnataka, alleging that Gandhi possesses disproportionate assets.

In an order issued in May, the Allahabad High Court observed that if the complaint had indeed been received by the concerned agencies, the allegations contained in it should be verified in accordance with law.

The court also said that the CBI and ED were at liberty to take appropriate action as warranted under the legal framework.

During a subsequent hearing on July 20, the High Court expressed dissatisfaction with an affidavit filed by the CBI, observing that it did not adequately comply with the directions issued earlier by the court.

The High Court, meanwhile, took note of steps initiated by the ED and observed that the agency could proceed in accordance with law if any actionable information emerged during the verification or investigation.

Besides the CBI and ED, the Allahabad High Court bench directed the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Revenue Department, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Director of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office to file responses to the allegations raised by the petitioner.

Gandhi has also filed a separate transfer petition before the Supreme Court, seeking to transfer the proceedings from the Allahabad High Court to the Delhi High Court.

The Allahabad High Court is scheduled to hear the matter on August 20.