CBI chief's affidavit puts A-G in a tight spot

CBI director Ranjit Sinha's categorical statement in his affidavit about the attorney-general GE Vahanvati having suggested changes in the draft status report on coal blocks allocation scam could turn the heat on the government's top law officer. Nagendar Sharma reports. 5 questions put to the CBI director

CBI director Ranjit Sinha's categorical statement in his affidavit about the attorney-general GE Vahanvati having suggested changes in the draft status report on coal blocks allocation scam could turn the heat on the government's top law officer.

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In his nine-page affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on Monday, Sinha stated that the attorney-general glanced through two status reports on March 6 and even suggested changes, this had been consistently denied by Vahanvati both inside and outside the court.

Giving the sequence of events which transpired on March 6, Sinha's affidavit states: "Learned attorney-general glanced through portions of two status reports.

He made certain observations which were explained to him. He also suggested certain minor changes in one of the reports."

This directly contradicts Vahanvati's statement before the Supreme Court on April 30.

"Since a lot of things have been said and a letter has been leaked yesterday which refers to me, I am pained. I never had the copy of the status report. I did not have the copy even today and I have never asked for any status report," Vahanvati had said.

The attorney-general's statement had come in response to a four-page letter written to him by former additional solicitor general Harin Rawal, in which he had accused Vahanvati of making him a scapegoat in the entire matter.

Rawal was the first to challenge Vahanvati's assertion about not having seen any of CBI's status reports.

"You (Vahanvati) will kindly recall that on 6th March, while I was in court, I received a message from your end, asking me to see the law minister at 12.30 with the status report...which was perused by him as well as by you," he wrote. Rawal had further stated that Vahanvati had seen several other drafts of CBI status reports at his official residence, though the latter has denied any such development.