The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the July 20 "Sansad Chalo" protest over the alleged NEET paper leak, observing that the decision to hand over any investigation to the central agency rests solely with the central government.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the July 20 "Sansad Chalo" protest over the alleged NEET paper leak, observing that the decision to hand over any investigation to the central agency rests solely with the Central Government.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said the Court cannot substitute its opinion for the satisfaction that the Centre must record under Section 6 of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008.

"See your prayers. It is in respect of issuing direction to NIA to conduct inquiry and investigation etc. That is for authorities to consider if a crime reported has to be probed by State Govt or State Police. So far as your prayer for NIA is concerned, it is for Centre to take a call. It can be suo motu or initiated on report submitted by SHO. We cannot substitute our satisfaction to satisfaction which is to be recorded by Central Government," CJ orally told Petitioner as per the live law report.

The Bench explained that under Section 6, an FIR must first be registered and forwarded to the Centre through the State Government, which then decides whether the case warrants an NIA investigation.