The Supreme Court today directed the government to issue within three days a notification for handing over to the CBI the probe into the mysterious death of Sadiq Batcha, a close aide of former Telecom Minister A Raja, after it was alleged that the Centre was "sitting over" the request for the last fortnight.

"In the facts and circumstances of the case, we direct the government to issue notification within three days transferring the investigation of the case to the CBI.

Thereafter, the CBI will take over the investigation," said a bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly.

The court passed the order after taking on record Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising's statement that Tamil Nadu Government had given its consent for transfer of the probe to the CBI, which had also expressed its willingness to take over the case.

She said a notification in this regard will be issued and all the preconditions have been satisfied under the law.

However, the NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), protested the "delay" on the part of the government in coming out with the notification as the Tamil Nadu Government had written a letter to it on March 18 for transferring the probe to the CBI.

"Why there should be so much delay when the state government made the request on March 18. Why should there be a such inordinate delay. Why should the court not issue the order (for issuing notification)," advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the CPIL, submitted before the bench.

Jaising said all the preconditions for transferring the case to the CBI has been satisfied and "there is no hurdle in issuing the notification".

The court took note of the submission and said, "In view of the consent of the state government and the willingness of the CBI to take over the probe in relation to the death of Batcha at Chennai, it would be appropriate that the government issue a notification".

The bench had on April 1 asked the Centre to inform it by today on its decision pertaining to the notification to transfer the case to the CBI after agency's counsel K K Venugopal had said that Tamil Nadu Government had agreed to it.

"We have already received a request from Tamil Nadu Government which has issued notification in this regard and the Centre will soon issue its notification for transfer of case to the CBI. We are expressing willingness to take over the probe in the case," Venugopal had said.

38-year-old Batcha, who had been quizzed by the CBI in connection with the 2G scam, was found dead in mysterious circumstances at his home in south Chennai on March 16 and his wife had claimed that he committed suicide as he was "unable to cope with the pressure" of the probe.

Batcha was the managing director of Greenhouse Promoters, which the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate suspected to be a front for Raja. .

The apex court had ordered the CBI to probe the 2G spectrum allocation scam on the petition filed by the CPIL.

Batcha was said to have been found hanging in his house in Vannia Teynampet in South Chennai by his wife and his driver.

The CBI and the ED had conducted searches at his official and residential premises in December. He had been called for questioning four times since then.

The CBI in its charg sheet filed on April 2 had said that the money connected with the 2G spectrum scam had travelled through Batcha's company to Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd.

The agency had said that Rs 200 crore connected with 2G scam travelled from a partnership firm of Shahid Usman Balwa, an accused in the case, to Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd whose owners include Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's wife Dayaluammal.

Elaborating the conspiracy in the spectrum allocation scam, the agency had said the money travelled through a "circuitous route" through Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, a DB group company and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's daughter and DMK MP Kanimozhi, Dayaluammal and Sharad Kumar, Managing Director of Kalaignar TV, have 20, 60 and 20 per cent shares in the channel respectively.

"Investigations have also revealed that in furtherance of the conspiracy, Dynamix Realty, a partnership firm of DB Realty Ltd and other DB group companies, paid Rs 200 crore to Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd during December 2008 to August 2009, following a circuitous route through Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd (a DB group company) and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd (DB group holds 49 per cent equity in it)," the charge sheet had said.

However, the chain of this and other suspected quid pro quo related to Batcha's Green House Promoters Pvt Ltd needs to be consolidated and further evidence needs to be collected to prove the allegations, the agency had said.

The CBI had said, "Further investigations regarding these transactions, including custodial interrogation of the accused persons, is in progress and a supplementary police report will be filed in the case soon."

Asif Balwa, cousin of Shahid Balwa, and Rajeev Agarwal, Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, were arrested on March 29.