SC rejects Bangaru plea

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected former BJP chief Bangaru Laxman’s plea to restrain one of the co-accused in the Tehelka sting operation on corruption involving defence deals from turning an approver.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected former BJP chief Bangaru Laxman’s plea to restrain one of the co-accused in the Tehelka sting operation on corruption involving defence deals from turning an approver.

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Laxman — named in a CBI chargesheet under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the decade-old case — had challenged the CBI's move to pardon co-accused Satyamurthy to make him an approver and prosecution witness.

Satyamurthy was Laxman's private secretary when he was the BJP chief and the scam was exposed in a sting operation. The former BJP chief had submitted that in a bid to implicate him, CBI had obtained a pardon for Satyamurthy to turn an approver.

But CBI contested Laxman's arguments and contended, it could grant pardon to an accused at any time.