The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Calcutta police commissioner Rajeev Kumar to make himself available before the CBI and 'faithfully' cooperate in the investigation of the Saradha chit fund scam.

Kumar will appear before the CBI in Shillong in Meghalaya, the apex court said, adding that there would be no coercive steps, including the arrest of the Calcutta police chief, during the course of the investigation.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi issued a notice to Kumar and sought his response before February 20, the next date of hearing on the CBI’s allegations that he was tampering with electronic evidence and that the SIT he headed provided doctored materials to the agency.

The apex court also directed the West Bengal chief secretary, the director-general of police (DGP) and the Calcutta police commissioner to file replies on the contempt pleas filed against them by the CBI on or before February 18. After that, the court might ask the three to personally appear on February 20.

The bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjeev Khanna, said the apex court's secretary general would inform them on February 19 whether they are required to be present before the apex court on February 20.