The Supreme Court yesterday rebuked federal investigators for allowing the government to vet the findings of a probe into alleged corruption in the award of coal blocks, setting off parliament protests and demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The top court said the decision by the Central Bureau of Investigation to share the investigation report with the government was “not ordinary” and said it would seek to free the agency from political interference.

“The investigation has to be independent without any extraneous influence,” the three-judge bench headed by R M Lodha said. “The very foundation of the investigating process is shaken by political interference.”

The court asked the agency’s director to file an affidavit stating the changes made in the draft report vetted by Law Minister Ashwani Kumar.

The bench which also included Madan Lokur and Kurien Joseph said the affidavit should be “candid, truthful, absolutely complete and founded on records.”

Noting that its trust in the investigating agency has been breached, the court observed: “We believed you and trusted you” and “this is how the draft report was changed... the court was kept in dark.”

The court, during the course of the hearing that lasted nearly two hours, wanted to know whether the law minister had the authority to call for status reports from investigating agencies.

“Can you tell (us) if the minister of law and justice (is) entitled to call for such a report,” Justice Lodha asked.

“If we find that the investigation has been influenced by someone who has no business or authority to do so, then the only inference is that the investigation is a farce and the entire investigation would be rendered meaningless,” he said.

“We want to know if somebody was sought to be shielded, then our reaction will be different.

“What changes were made (in the draft report) and at whose instance these (changes) were made and what effect it has,” the unrelenting court asked Attorney General G E Vahanvati.

Expressing its anguish, Justice Lodha went on: “ Had we not passed the order (on March 12, asking) for filing of an affidavit (by the CBI), nobody would have ever known of the vetting by the political executive.

“...does it not tantamount to suppression of vital piece of information from the court? Was it done deliberately? Why was it done? Was it decided to suppress the vital information from the court?”

Taking a dig at the joint secretary in the coal ministry, the court said despite repeated reminders by the CBI, the ministry did not furnish the information sought.

“However, what was furnished was not conforming to the information requisitioned by the CBI. On the other hand a joint secretary ... desired to see the status report.”

The court reiterated its earlier observation made in the last hearing that coal blocks would be nixed if found to be allocated in breach of statutory provisions.

“We are not to open the Pandora’s box. If allocation of coal blocks was reasonable, rational, lawful and on constitutional principles, then it is alright. Otherwise consequences must follow.”

Addressing a plea by the petitioner’s counsel Prashant Bhushan that the investigation be monitored by a retired judge of superior judiciary on day to day basis, the court said it would take a decision later.

However, there was some cheer for the investigating agency when Justice Lodha, referring to certain paragraphs in two status reports, said “prima facie it appears that the CBI is looking into the matter objectively.”

Yesterday’s court statement is the latest in a string of embarrassments linked to charges of corruption that Prime Minister Singh has faced for more than two years. A cabinet colleague resigned in 2010 to face trial for the 2008 sale of spectrum that the nation’s auditor said was “arbitrary” and may have cost the exchequer $31bn. Singh was in charge of the coal ministry for part of the period under the probe and has been personally blamed by opposition parties for irregularities.

Indian shares fell after the court sought details from the CBI. The S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.2% at 1.04pm in Mumbai after rising as much as 1.2% earlier.

“The market is worried about how much this will damage the government,” said Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd in Kochi. “This threatens to create more political gridlock and instability.”

India’s Comptroller & Auditor General told lawmakers in August that the government’s policy of allocating coal mines without auction favoured some private companies and may have cost as much as Rs1.86tn ($34bn) in potential revenue.

 

 

 

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