Coal scam: SC begins hearing on "interference" by CBI chief Sinha

New Delhi: Supreme Court Monday commenced hearing on a plea seeking appointment of a Special Investigation Team to examine allegations of interference and scuttling of probe into the coal block allocation scam by former CBI Director Ranjit Sinha, who has refuted the charges.

The apex court said it would hear the matter in detail and pass any order only after giving a full hearing.

The plea of the NGO, Common Cause, was opposed by the CBI and Sinha, who alleged that "insinuation" was being made on the basis of documents including internal offical notes which according to the apex court's May 8, 2013 order cannot be shared. CBI also said it has to be found out as to how the documents had come into the hands of others.

The NGO's counsel Prashant Bhushan said the court could ask the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) for the coal scam cases to examine relevant documents, as was done in the 2G spectrum scam cases in which Sinha was asked to keep himself away after the SPP in telecom case termed his action as improper.

However, CBI's senior advocate Amarender Sharan defended Sinha saying the entire effort was to derail the investigation and the scope of the coal scam matter should not be widened.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Sinha, contended that the NGO was citing documents and other internal notings which were neither given to the accused nor to the trial court. These were "freely floating" despite the apex court order barring sharing of any documents, he contended.

"If we prima facie find something, we will give it to the SPP," a bench comprising Justices M B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A K Sikri said, while making it clear that "whatever is on record, we have to give a full length hearing".

After two-hours of hearing the bench posted the matter for hearing on March 16 and said it would take up on March 9 the issues relating to the progress made in the investigation of the coal block allocation scam cases.

The bench said there was a need to examine what has been done since July 2014, when it had perused the last report into the investigation of the scam. 

The apex court during the last hearing on January 12 had said "we have to take a call. Either, we have to agree with you (CBI) or with him (NGO's counsel making allegations)."

The bench will also hear the application filed by Sinha accusing the NGO and its counsel Prashant Bhushan of perjury.

Bhushan claimed the entries in the visitors' register of the former CBI Director made it clear that he was meeting the high-profile accused and those associated with coal block allocation like Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda and former Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay and said there was a need for court-monitored SIT investigation to ascertain "whether any consideration exchanged hands".

"If there is so much of evidence on record that this gentleman (Sinha) at so many times had meetings with accused and tried to change the course of probe and maneouvre the situation for closing cases, then this court has to find out how this gentleman goes on meeting dozens of time and maneouvres the investigation," Bhushan submitted while reading out his note in which he narrated the alleged events emerging from the entry register of Sinha's residence.

"It has to be investigated what type of negotiations were taking place at the late night meetings which happened for 20-30 times in absence of the investigating officers. It has to be examined as it is total criminal misconduct and also the contempt of this court which is monitoring the investigation," he said.

Senior advocate Amarender Sharan, appearing for the CBI, contended that several contents including one about him (Sharan) in Bhushan's note were factually incorrect.

However, Bhushan said all these allegations could be examined by the apex court-appointed Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) for conducting the prosecution of cases arising from the scam and the apex court can take a call on his report.

He said the same procedure was adopted by the apex court in the 2G spectrum allocation scam when Sinha was directed to keep himself away from the cases arising out of it.

The NGO submitted that since the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Delhi Police has not registered an FIR on its November 25, 2014 complaint, there was a need for court- monitored probe for alleged abuse of authority by Sinha as the then director of CBI.

The NGO claimed that it had come to light that Sinha, along with a few other senior officers of the level of Joint Director, repeatedly overruled the investigating officers (IOs) and forced them not to register FIRs/RCs in cases where PEs had been registered.

He (Sinha) even forced them to file closure reports in cases where FIRs had already been registered, it alleged.

Bhushan submitted that the SPP in the coal scam cases, R S Cheema, had disagreed with Sinha's decisions to file closure reports in several FIRs despite the fact that evidence of criminal culpability had been found against several companies, influential accused and public servants.

In the plea for perjury against the NGO and Bhushan, Sinha's counsel has said, "there is not a single case in which Sinha overruled the unanimous opinion of the officers working under him with regard to recommending closure in which they have recommended conversion to a regular case. Thus, the falsity of the statement made before this Court is evident from this count alone."