Invoking the provisions of Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, this petition is filed by the petitioners to quash the criminal proceedings of the case concerned in F.I.R. No. RC MA1 2016 A0045, which is registered against them on the file of the SP/Inspector of Police, CBI, ACB, Chennai.

2. The petitioners 1 and 2 are none other than the husband and wife and ranked as A1 and A2 in the above said case. The first petitioner Mr. S.Murali Mohan is an IRS Officer belonging to 1999 batch in the Income Tax Department and at the time of registration of the First Information Report he was working as Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Range CR-3. Chennai and as such he is a public servant. It is alleged that during the check period i.e., from 01.01.2002 to 30.08.2014 he had amassed assets and pecuniary resources to the tune of Rs.3,28,00,029/- in his name as well as in the name of his wife Smt. S.Srikala who is the second petitioner herein and also in the name of other family members, which according to the prosecution, is disproportionate to his known and lawful source of income, for which he has not satisfactorily accounted.

3. It is also alleged that the second petitioner Smt. S.Srikala. W/o. S.Murali Mohan is a housewife and hails from an ordinary family. She is a B.A Graduate. The petitioners are having two children. During the relevant period, the first petitioner S.Murali Mohan had acquired both movable and immovable properties in the names of his wife Smt. S.Srikala (A2) and his mother Smt. S.Sarojini, which are disproportionate to their known sources of income for which they have not accounted satisfactorily.

4. According to the prosecution, based on a reliable information, a case in RC MA1 2016 A 0045 was registered and entrusted to one Mr. P.Velayutham, Inspector of Police, CBI, ACB, Chennai for investigation. The First Information Report discloses that the acts of the petitioners viz., (1) S.Murali Mohan and (2) Smt. S.Srikala to acquire the assets in their names prima facie discloses the commission of offences punishable under Sections 120-B IPC r/w. Section 13(2) r/w. 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

5. It may be relevant to note here that the name of the Station House Officer who had received the information and registered the case has not been stated in the FIR as required under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, it is stated that Mr. P.Velayutham, Inspector of Police was authorized under Section 17 and 18 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 to conduct investigation of the case.

6. The competency of the above said Inspector of Police to take up the investigation is strongly disputed by Mr. Suresh Babu, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners.

7. As aforestated, the first petitioner Mr. S.Murali Mohan, is an IRS Officer belonged to 1999 batch in the Income Tax Department. At the initial stage, he was posted to Hyderabad and worked as Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax from 19.04.2001 to 14.07.2006. He was then promoted as Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT) on 14.06.2006 and posted at Hyderabad and worked as Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 2(1) from 14.06.2006 to 31.07.2007 and subsequently worked as DCIT, Central Circle-I at Hyderabad from 01.08.2007 to 17.06.2009. Thereafter, he was promoted as Additional Commissioner of Income Tax on 17.06.2009 and posted at Thiruvananthapuram as Additional and Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, Range 1 from 17.06.2009 to 16.11.20011 and subsequently he was transferred to Chennai and worked as Addi/JDIT (Inv) U-1 from 16.11.2011.

8. The prosecution says that the first petitioner Murali Mohan hails from an ordinary family from Khammam District of Andhra Pradesh. His father one Mr. Radha Krishnamurthy, was functioning as a Government Teacher and retired in the year 1999. Now he is no more as he had p