NEW DELHI: Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati and PMO and coal ministry officials proposed changes to and even deleted portions from the CBI’s status report on the probe into the coal scam.
Ranjit Sinha, Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, today filed a nine-page affidavit in Supreme Court and said that the law ministry removed a paragraph critical to the Prime Minister’s Office.
According to news channel CNN-IBN, Kumar met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the CBI filed its affidavit and admitted he made changes to the coal probe report.
In the affidavit, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha also said that "there was no deletion of any evidence against any suspect" and the "central theme of the status report" was "not changed".
Sinha said the CBI's tentative findings that the screening committee which scrutinised applications for the allocation of coal blocks had not prepared a broadsheet or chart for its evaluation, was deleted at the instance of Ashwani Kumar from the draft report.
"The other tentative findings about non-preparation of broadsheets or charts by the screening committee to the best of our recollection was deleted by the honourable union minister of law and justice (Ashwani Kumar)," Sinha said in the affidavit, filed in pursuance to the apex court's April 30 order.
It said the law minister also deleted a sentence about the scope of the inquiry with respect to the legality of the allocations.
It further said at the instance of the officials of the coal ministry and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), its "tentative findings about the non-existence of a system regarding allocation of specific weightage/points was deleted...".
The affidavit said the changes were made in the final status report pertaining to its preliminary inquiry about non-existence of approved guidelines for the allocation of coal blocks were incorporated at the instance of officials of the PMO and ministry of coal, which was factually correct.
The affidavit also said that the attorney general, law ministry and the PMO and coal ministry officials saw the report as did Kumar, who was shown the report at his behest.
The affidavit said that former Additional Solicitor Gerneral Harin Raval and Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati were present in the meeting with the law minister.
The agency also told the court that it is difficult at this stage to attribute each change to a particular person with certainty.
Changes in the status report were made on the suggestions given by Attorney General and PMO official, the CBI affidavit said.
The affidavit said that Shatrughan Singh, Joint Secretary PMO and A.K. Bhalla, Joint Secretary, Coal Ministry, met in the chamber of Joint Director CBI at the request of Joint Secretary PMO.
However, the CBI director told the Supreme Court that only the draft status report was shared with the political executive and the AG, and not the status report.
Consequent changes in the report have neither altered its central theme nor shifted the focus of inquiries in any manner, the CBI told the court.
Sinha is said to have discussed the affidavit to be filed by the CBI today with the agency’s lawyer U.U. Lalit who has replaced Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval.
The ASG resigned after a controversy that put the government in a spot erupted over his allegation that Vahanvati tried to influence the probe.
Leaving Rafael to fend for himself, the affidavit said that he had no instructions from the investigating agency to tell the court that the draft status report was not shared with anybody except the court.
Ranjit Sinha, Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, today filed a nine-page affidavit in Supreme Court and said that the law ministry removed a paragraph critical to the Prime Minister’s Office.
According to news channel CNN-IBN, Kumar met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the CBI filed its affidavit and admitted he made changes to the coal probe report.
In the affidavit, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha also said that "there was no deletion of any evidence against any suspect" and the "central theme of the status report" was "not changed".
Sinha said the CBI's tentative findings that the screening committee which scrutinised applications for the allocation of coal blocks had not prepared a broadsheet or chart for its evaluation, was deleted at the instance of Ashwani Kumar from the draft report.
"The other tentative findings about non-preparation of broadsheets or charts by the screening committee to the best of our recollection was deleted by the honourable union minister of law and justice (Ashwani Kumar)," Sinha said in the affidavit, filed in pursuance to the apex court's April 30 order.
It said the law minister also deleted a sentence about the scope of the inquiry with respect to the legality of the allocations.
It further said at the instance of the officials of the coal ministry and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), its "tentative findings about the non-existence of a system regarding allocation of specific weightage/points was deleted...".
The affidavit said the changes were made in the final status report pertaining to its preliminary inquiry about non-existence of approved guidelines for the allocation of coal blocks were incorporated at the instance of officials of the PMO and ministry of coal, which was factually correct.
The affidavit also said that the attorney general, law ministry and the PMO and coal ministry officials saw the report as did Kumar, who was shown the report at his behest.
The affidavit said that former Additional Solicitor Gerneral Harin Raval and Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati were present in the meeting with the law minister.
The agency also told the court that it is difficult at this stage to attribute each change to a particular person with certainty.
Changes in the status report were made on the suggestions given by Attorney General and PMO official, the CBI affidavit said.
The affidavit said that Shatrughan Singh, Joint Secretary PMO and A.K. Bhalla, Joint Secretary, Coal Ministry, met in the chamber of Joint Director CBI at the request of Joint Secretary PMO.
However, the CBI director told the Supreme Court that only the draft status report was shared with the political executive and the AG, and not the status report.
Consequent changes in the report have neither altered its central theme nor shifted the focus of inquiries in any manner, the CBI told the court.
Sinha is said to have discussed the affidavit to be filed by the CBI today with the agency’s lawyer U.U. Lalit who has replaced Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval.
The ASG resigned after a controversy that put the government in a spot erupted over his allegation that Vahanvati tried to influence the probe.
Leaving Rafael to fend for himself, the affidavit said that he had no instructions from the investigating agency to tell the court that the draft status report was not shared with anybody except the court.
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