Coalgate report ‘not diluted, rephrased at best’: CBI chief’s plea

CBI director Ranjit Sinha is likely to tell the Supreme Court that after a meeting with union law minister Ashwani Kumar, the probe agency may have ‘rephrased’ the coal block probe status report to cut few words but in no way did it amount to any dilution of the investigation itself. Rajesh Ahuja reports.

CBI director Ranjit Sinha is likely to tell the Supreme Court that after a meeting with union law minister Ashwani Kumar, the probe agency may have ‘rephrased’ the coal block probe status report to cut few words but in no way did it amount to any dilution of the investigation itself.

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To put its point across the agency may offer the top court a look into case dairies related to the coal block allocation probe.

“Every case dairy contains a statement of the circumstances ascertained through the investigation and in no way the case dairies can be changed. So the question of dilution of the coal block probe doesn’t even arise. However it is true that some sentences were rephrased in the status report after the CBI chief and joint director in charge of coal block allocation probe met union law minister Ashwini Kumar. We will accept this in court,” said a senior CBI official.

During a hearing on the coal allocation scam on March 12, the SC told the CBI director to file an affidavit saying that the status report of the agency was vetted by him and not shared with political executives and the same will be followed in future.

Sinha has time till April 26 to file the affidavit. At the moment, he is in France to attend an Interpol meeting and is likely to come back on Monday.

“We have never denied the meeting that took place between the law minister and the CBI chief. But for us the sanctity of the investigation is top priority and we will tell the top court that every detail about the investigation so far has been maintained in the case diaries,” said the official.

The CBI has so far registered 10 FIRs in connection with the coal block allocation probe. No chargesheet has been filed so far and no arrests have taken place. The agency has also not named any public servant as accused in any of the FIRs registered so far.