The court directed the CBI to register a first information report, if required, after completion of the preliminary inquiry and initiate formal investigation thereafter.

The division bench also directed the state government to initiate disciplinary action against Indian Police Service officer S.M.H. Mirza, who was allegedly seen in one of the tapes. 

The Narada sting tapes, which were released to different news organisations on March 14 last year, just before the 2016 Assembly elections that began in West Bengal on April 4, showed some leaders allegedly taking money.

The division bench noted that a report by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh, had said that the tapes were untampered.

Mathew Samuel, editor of Narada News, had told the court that the recordings were done using an iPhone, which were transferred to a laptop and were then stored in a pendrive.

All these devices were taken possession of by a committee set up by the high court.

Passing the order, the court observed that conduct of public figures must be beyond reproach.

The court said that given the persons against whom allegations have been made are ministers, lawmakers and other senior leaders from the state, it would be just to direct the CBI, and not a state agency, to conduct a preliminary inquiry.

The court also observed that CBI was the most suitable agency for conducting an independent probe into the matter.

Three petitions had been filed before the high court seeking independent probe into the sting tapes after examining the genuineness of the recordings.

(This report was updated at 2.15pm.)