Won't share report with govt again: CBI director assures SC

As controversy rages on Law Minister Ashwani Kumar vetting CBI’s status report on the coalgate scam before it was submitted to the Supreme Court, the agency’s director Ranjit Sinha on Friday undertook not to repeat the mistake in future. Bhadra Sinha reports.

As controversy rages on Law Minister Ashwani Kumar vetting CBI’s status report on the coalgate scam before it was submitted to the Supreme Court, the agency’s director Ranjit Sinha on Friday undertook not to repeat the mistake in future.

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Sinha’s affidavit, which admits sharing CBI’s last status report with the political executives as also with joint secretaries of Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and coal ministry, assured the top court that it would not share future status reports.

“In respect of further status reports of the investigation and inquiry required to be filed in this matter before this court, I undertake and assure this court that the same shall not be shared with any political executive,” he stated in the affidavit.

Sinha also affirmed not sharing the latest status report with any political executive. Filed in a sealed cover, the report would be taken up on April 30 by a bench headed by Justice RM Lodha, which would also consider Sinha’s affidavit.

The CBI director’s explanation has come pursuant to the SC directing him to affirm that the status report filed in the court on March 8 was vetted by him only. It had made it clear that it would not tolerate any political interference with CBI’s probe.

The bench had even cautioned Attorney General Vahanvati against making statements that could affect the investigation. The CBI’s last status report was contrary to the government affidavit, as it had prima facie found descrepancis in the allotment of coal mines.

This isn’t the first time the CBI has been left red-faced due to political interference. In 2009, the SC had come down heavily on the agency that withdrew its application to file a probe report in the disproportionate assets case against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav before the top court on the UPA government’s direction.

“You (CBI) are acting at the behest of Centre... You are not acting on your own,” the bench had told the agency after senior advocate Mohan Parasaran, then additional solicitor general, admitted the withdrawal was at government’s instance.