Top officials in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office went into a marathon “emergency” huddle on Monday afternoon to discuss the possible ramifications of CBI officer Manish Kumar Sinha’s explosive claims about some key names in the ruling establishment.

A senior government official said the allegations in Sinha’s petition in the Supreme Court against some top bureaucrats had left the government “shell-shocked”.

“Soon after the explosive petition in the apex court, the top PMO officials were busy in an afternoon huddle, chalking out plans on how to respond to the charges,” the official said.

Sources said P.K. Mishra, additional principal secretary to the Prime Minister, chaired the meeting.

The 1972-batch retired IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre was Modi’s principal secretary between 2001 and 2009 when the BJP leader headed the Gujarat government.

The marathon meeting, the government official said, continued till late in the evening as the court is expected to take up the petition for hearing on Tuesday morning.

“The top officials discussed the possible ramifications and ways to counter the allegations. Given the scenario, the apex court may ask the government to respond to the charges mentioned in the petition. They deliberated on the government’s response in the court,” the official said.

Sinha has quoted a businessman as claiming that minister of state for coal and mines Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary took a bribe of a “few crores” to settle a case. The minister has denied the charge.

Sinha also said he was told that national security adviser Ajit Doval had intervened in the ongoing probe against benched CBI special director Rakesh Asthana, who is said to be close to Modi.

Central vigilance commissioner K.V. Chowdary, cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha and law secretary Suresh Chandra have also found mention in the CBI officer’s intervening application.

P.K. Sinha is the administrative head of the cabinet secretariat, which is under the Prime Minister’s direct charge.

Sources said it has become difficult for Modi to remain silent because the charges that have been levelled are against bureaucrats who directly report to him. Modi has not spoken either on the ongoing war within the CBI, which is under the administrative control of a department that reports to the PMO.

“This has become murkier,” said a home ministry official, asking not to be named. If a formal petition is saying that such activities were going on, it raises the question whether the Prime Minister was aware of them, he added.