Guwahati, Oct. 15: Gauhati High Court today ordered a CBI probe into allegations of corruption against Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul.

A division bench of Chief Justice (acting) K. Sreedhar Rao and Justice P.K. Saikia directed the CBI to conduct a "preliminary inquiry" into allegations of corruption and accusations of amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income against Paul, his wife Sunanda, brother Rajeev and driver Sanjay Saha.

The high court passed the order in connection with public interest litigation (PIL) and writ petitions filed by KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi and others, alleging irregularities in civil service examinations conducted by the APSC.

Although the court allowed the CBI to interrogate Paul, it restrained the central investigating agency from arresting him during the preliminary inquiry.

The division bench was not satisfied with the APSC chairman's reply to the affidavit filed by Mukul Saikia, the superintendent of police of the state directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption, that contained details of the assets of Paul, his family members and those of Saha.

A preliminary probe conducted by Saikia recently had revealed that Paul, his wife, brother and Saha allegedly acquired several properties since 2009, when he became an APSC member.

Saikia had said that there was reasonable doubt that Paul's family members may have invested money belonging to him and suggested that the matter needed further investigation.

Senior advocates and amicus curiae (lawyers who assist the court) P.K. Tiwari and Bhaskar Dev Konwar contended that only a preliminary inquiry by the CBI would restore the confidence upon a constitutional post like that of the APSC chairman.

They further submitted that no prejudice should be caused to the accused, as he would have full opportunity to rebut the allegations of corruption without facing any threat of arrest.

There have been allegations of corruption against Paul in selection of candidates by the APSC for different government posts.

In March, Kamal Kanti Das, whose antecedents and address were not known, had written to the CBI claiming that Paul is collecting between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 40 lakh from each candidate depending on the post he or she had applied for and that Paul had collected Rs 50 crore in this manner.

The head of the CBI's anti-corruption branch in Guwahati, N. Gogoi, forwarded the letter to the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption of Assam police on March 9 this year, stating that since the matter doesn't fall within the jurisdiction of the CBI, the directorate may take necessary action.

But the state government had only ordered a preliminary inquiry by the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption against the APSC chairman even though there had been demands from many organisations and individuals for a CBI inquiry.

There had also been allegations that chief minister Tarun Gogoi was shielding Paul.