Asking attorney general Mukul Rohatgi to apprise it about the Centre?s view on a plea seeking recusal of CBI director Ranjit Sinha from the coal scam investigations, the Supreme Court directed the CBI to maintain ?status quo? and not to take final call relating to filing of chargesheets in the cases.
Common Cause, an NGO, has accused Sinha of derailing and tampering the investigations in the 2G spectrum and coal scam. Raising serious allegations against Sinha for protecting some accused, the NGO, through counsel Prashant Bhushan, has stated that the top cop should withdraw from the investigations, and a special investigative team should be asked to probe his role in the two scams.
The bench headed by Chief Justice RM Lodha sought reply from the government on these two demands and
also asked Bhushan to
formally implead Sinha as party in the case.
It asked the Centre to file assessment report of IT department on controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi who has come under scrutiny for violation of tax laws. Qureshi allegedly met Sinha at his official residence 90 times.
?Don?t take any precipitate action. You wait till the matter is taken up by the bench for next hearing and don?t take any final decision on any case,? the bench told CBI officials present in the court.
It posted the matter for further hearing till October 17. By then, the bench would be changed due to Lodha?s retirement on September 27.
Sinha?s counsel Vikas Singh told the court on Friday that Bushan doesn?t even trust the apex court as he had refused to divulge the whistleblower’s name in a sealed cover to another bench headed by Justice HL Dattu, which is hearing the 2G spectrum scam.
The documents are ?forged and defamatory and meant only for the media. It is destroying the reputation of Sinha. If the documents are proved false, Bhushan must be asked to face
perjury?, he said.
Singh contended that Bhushan should not be allowed to make allegations against the Director and his arguments are not for the court but for the gallery and urged the court to hold in-camera proceedings.
The bench shot back saying, ?you are also playing to the gallery? and refused his plea for in-camera hearing. ?We don?t believe in in-camera proceedings and it should be done only in exceptional circumstances?.
Unlike 2G case before the apex court where CBI senior counsel Amarender Sharan refused to take sides on allegation against the Director, the agency?s counsel in coal scam strongly supported Sinha in proceedings saying that charges levelled against him are baseless and scandalous.
Sharan also accused Bhushan of resorting to bench-hunting as plea made against the director is same in 2G and coal scam cases which are being monitored by two different benches of the apex court.
