SC removes Ranjit Sinha from 2G scam probe
22 Nov 2014 5:29 AM IST
The Supreme Court on Thursday removed CBI director Ranjit Sinha from 2G case investigation citing reason that ‘all is not well’ with the agency. The court’s observations hinted that Sinha’s meeting with some of the accused in the scam at his residence was against the official line.
The ruling came in connection with the petition filed by the NGO - Centre for Public Interest Litigation - that Sinha be removed as he might have tried to save some of the accused in the 2G spectrum scam as met them personally at his 2 Janpath residence. There are speculations that after Sinha’s removal, Special Director Anil Kumar Sinha will now head the investigation of the infamous 2G scam involving powerful people in the corridors of power and obscene amount of kickbacks received by some of them.
While hearing the case, the apex court did not pass any ‘detailed order over Sinha’s removal’ to maintain CBI’s reputation. During the argument, Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover told the apex court that CBI chief had interfered in the 2G case which was completely ‘inconsistent’ with the agency’s stand. Welcoming the move over Sinha’s removal, Grover said, ‘Our case in 2G could have been demolished, if Sinha’s stand was accepted.’
After going through the hearing and pleas, the SC observed, ‘It seems that apparently all is not well and seemingly the allegations made by the NGO against CBI Director Ranjit Sinha have some credibility.’ The apex court also came down heavily on CBI Joint Director Ashok Tiwari after he put forward his view on allegations against Sinha and took his side over his meeting with the accused in 2G and coal scam. ‘You are not agents of CBI director. You can’t be his mouthpiece,’ SC said.
The SC also said that shifting DIG Santosh Rastogi from 2G probe by the CBI chief was overreach of its order. Sinha had recently told the SC that Rastogi, who is in charge of the 2G scam probe, ‘appears’ to be the ‘mole’ who was leaking documents and file notings to AAP leader and advocate Prashant Bhushan. Rastogi was removed from the 2G scam probe, but on SC’s intervention, Rastogi was reinstated to the team. The apex court also expressed displeasure over the presence of a number of CBI officers in the court room. Around eight CBI officers were present in the court room, who left after the SC’s observation.
Sinha landed into controversy after the visitors’ diary at his residence revealed that he met several people including two top Reliance ADAG officials nearly 50 times in the last one year. It is also being charged that the visits coincided with Sinha’s alleged attempt to file an affidavit which sought to ‘defuse’ the charges against the company in the 2G scam.
Since his joining as a CBI director in 2012, everything was going well for Sinha till the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) in a petition filed before the Supreme Court on 2 September claimed that visitors’ entry register at Sinha’s residence was ‘very disturbing’ and contained ‘explosive material’ in 2G spectrum allocation scam against Reliance Telecom.
Sinha had suffered a setback when the apex court had turned down his plea to restrain media from broadcasting and publishing news stories over the sensational revelation of the visitors’ logbook of his 2 Janpath residence.
The ruling came in connection with the petition filed by the NGO - Centre for Public Interest Litigation - that Sinha be removed as he might have tried to save some of the accused in the 2G spectrum scam as met them personally at his 2 Janpath residence. There are speculations that after Sinha’s removal, Special Director Anil Kumar Sinha will now head the investigation of the infamous 2G scam involving powerful people in the corridors of power and obscene amount of kickbacks received by some of them.
While hearing the case, the apex court did not pass any ‘detailed order over Sinha’s removal’ to maintain CBI’s reputation. During the argument, Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover told the apex court that CBI chief had interfered in the 2G case which was completely ‘inconsistent’ with the agency’s stand. Welcoming the move over Sinha’s removal, Grover said, ‘Our case in 2G could have been demolished, if Sinha’s stand was accepted.’
After going through the hearing and pleas, the SC observed, ‘It seems that apparently all is not well and seemingly the allegations made by the NGO against CBI Director Ranjit Sinha have some credibility.’ The apex court also came down heavily on CBI Joint Director Ashok Tiwari after he put forward his view on allegations against Sinha and took his side over his meeting with the accused in 2G and coal scam. ‘You are not agents of CBI director. You can’t be his mouthpiece,’ SC said.
The SC also said that shifting DIG Santosh Rastogi from 2G probe by the CBI chief was overreach of its order. Sinha had recently told the SC that Rastogi, who is in charge of the 2G scam probe, ‘appears’ to be the ‘mole’ who was leaking documents and file notings to AAP leader and advocate Prashant Bhushan. Rastogi was removed from the 2G scam probe, but on SC’s intervention, Rastogi was reinstated to the team. The apex court also expressed displeasure over the presence of a number of CBI officers in the court room. Around eight CBI officers were present in the court room, who left after the SC’s observation.
Sinha landed into controversy after the visitors’ diary at his residence revealed that he met several people including two top Reliance ADAG officials nearly 50 times in the last one year. It is also being charged that the visits coincided with Sinha’s alleged attempt to file an affidavit which sought to ‘defuse’ the charges against the company in the 2G scam.
Since his joining as a CBI director in 2012, everything was going well for Sinha till the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) in a petition filed before the Supreme Court on 2 September claimed that visitors’ entry register at Sinha’s residence was ‘very disturbing’ and contained ‘explosive material’ in 2G spectrum allocation scam against Reliance Telecom.
Sinha had suffered a setback when the apex court had turned down his plea to restrain media from broadcasting and publishing news stories over the sensational revelation of the visitors’ logbook of his 2 Janpath residence.
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