Graft charges framed against minister, wife

IANS/ShimlaA court in Himachal Pradesh yesterday framed corruption charges against federal minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh.Special Judge B L Soni later adjourned the case pending a Himachal Pradesh High Court decision on Singh’s petition seeking either the transfer of the corruption case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or quashing a police complaint against him and his wife.It means the trial court will now hear the case after a green signal from the high court.Yesterday’s development is significant as the former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and the federal minister for micro, small and medium enterprises himself announced in Dharamsala on June 8 that he would resign if charges were framed against him in the case.Special public prosecutor Jiwan Lal Sharma said the charges against Singh were farmed under Sections 7, 11 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).He said charges against Pratibha Singh were framed under Section 9 of the Corruption Act and Section 120-B of the IPC.The prosecution had filed the charge-sheet against the couple in October 2010.Singh and his wife were booked by the state police on August 3, 2009, under the Prevention of Corruption Act for alleged misuse of his official position and criminal misconduct when he was the chief minister in 1989.According to the police, the couple was booked on the basis of an audio cassette released by Singh’s political adversary Vijai Singh Mankotia in 2007.The cassette allegedly contained Singh’s telephone conversation with Indian Administrative Service officer Mahinder Lal, who is now dead.It also contained voices of his wife and some industrialists, who have been identified by police, proposing to invest in the state.Defence counsel had contended that the case was frivolous and it was registered on the basis of an audio cassette whose origin, source and authenticity were not known.While hearing the five-time chief minister’s petition in January, the high court observed that the trial court was free to examine the accused.“The trial court has already summoned the petitioners by order dated October 23, 2010. That order has become final. The next stage is consideration of charge. Having not challenged the order under Section 204 CrPC (code of criminal procedure) the petitioners have to face the next stage of consideration of charge,” the bench had said, adding “consideration of charge did not mean that charges have been framed.”Singh meanwhile refuted the charge, terming it a “concocted case” and a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Himachal Pradesh.He accused the BJP government of misusing the state police against him. “The BJP government in Himachal Pradesh is after my blood,” he said. Singh said he blamed the state government.