Documente Academic
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Compiled By
K. Samu
Human Rights Documentation,
Indian Social Institute, Lodi Road, New Delhi
CBI did not seek sanction to prosecute Justice Yadav: CJI (5)
Delhi, February 10, 2010: Chief Justice of India (CJI) KG Balakrishnan on Wednesday said the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) did not seek his permission to prosecute Justice Nirmal Yadav of the
Punjab and Haryana High Court on charges of corruption. The Supreme Court's secretary general MP
Bhadran made the statement on behalf of the chief justice, reacting to the Punjab and Haryana High
Court Bar Association's resolution condemning Justice Balakrishnan and former attorney general of India
Milon Banerjee for giving a clean chit to the controversial high court judge. Referring to news reports
based on the condemnation by the bar, apex court secretary general said, "This is to clarify that no such
request for sanction to prosecute a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has been made by the
CBI to the CJI regarding the alleged delivery of cash at the judge's doorstep." Bhadran said the CBI has
not shown to the CJI even the final report, submitted to the Chandigarh special CBI court, seeking closure
of the case against Justice Yadav. "Even the final report in this regard has not been shown to the CJI,"
said Bhadran, adding, "So, it is incorrect to say that the CJI has denied sanction to prosecute the judge."
The high court's bar association condemned the CJI for allegedly "willful and palpable abdication of his
duty" in denying sanction for prosecution of Justice Yadav based on the opinion of the attorney general
for India. The attorney general was condemned for his opinion, which held that no case is made out
against Justice Yadav. The scam broke out in August 2008, when the clerk of former additional advocate
general of the Punjab and Haryana High Court delivered a bag containing Rs.15 lakh in cash at the house
of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur. Later, it was found that the money was meant for another judge, Justice Nirmal
Yadav. However, the CBI, which investigated the case, filed a closure report in December last year
saying that the it had not got clearance from the CJI to continue with the case.(Hindustan Times 10/2/10)
Maharashtra Chief Post-Master General held for taking Rs 2 crore bribe (5)
Mumbai, Feb 25 (PTI): The Chief Post-Master General of Maharashtra and Goa has been arrested by
CBI for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2 crore for issuing a no objection certificate (NOC) for construction
of a post office in neighbouring Thane district. The Chief Postmaster General of Maharashtra and Goa,
Manjit Singh Bali, apprehended by the CBI for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2 crore for issuing a No
Objection Certificate (NOC) for construction of a post office. PTI Manjit Singh Bali, a 1978 batch officer of
the Indian Postal Services, was caught on Wednesday by the sleuths of the Anti Corruption Bureau of the
CBI while allegedly accepting the bribe amount. The CBI has recovered a sum of Rs 34 lakh, USD 10722,
3050 UK Pounds and 3470 Euro from his South Mumbai residence.Bali, who is one of the senior-most
officers in the postal department across the country, had demanded the bribe to issue a NOC for the
development of land at Mira Bhayendar in Thane district. "The 2000 sq mt land is owned by a private
builder who had agreed to allot 25 per cent of the land for the construction of a post office. This, however,
required a NOC from the postal department," CBI Joint Director (Western Region) Rishiraj Singh told
reporters. A father-son duo, who own a consultancy firm in South Mumbai have also been arrested along
with Bali. Arun Dalmiya and Harsh Dalmiya were the middlemen who were dealing with Bali and the
complainant. According to CBI, the complainant Rita Shah, an ex-corporator of Mira Bhayendar had
approached Bali in January this year requesting him to expedite the issuance of NOC for the construction
of a post office in the area. (Deccan Herald 25/2/10)
House adjourned thrice over CBI probe into Koda scam (5)
RANCHI: With the new government coming to power, the priorities of both the Treasury Bench and the
Opposition seem to have changed. Congress and RJD, which once supported the Madhu Koda
government, created a ruckus in the Assembly here on Wednesday, demanding a CBI probe into the
multi-crore scam of fraudulent withdrawals and money laundering that Koda has been embroiled in.
Ruling ally BJP that once insisted on a CBI probe and even questioned the capabilities of the state
vigilance department during President's Rule, now finds the agency competent and a CBI probe
"unnecessary". These differences of opinion led to a huge uproar and three adjournments during the day.
The House plunged into pandemonium as soon as Speaker C P Singh turned down the adjournment
motion moved by seven members of the Opposition. The motion was placed by Vinod Singh of CPI(ML)
who said the state vigilance department was not competent enough to investigate a scam that has links in
other states and even abroad. Calling for the adjournment of the entire business and the government's
reply over the issue, the Opposition stormed the well of the House as soon as its motion was rejected.
Led by JVM's Samresh Singh, the Opposition raised anti-government slogans and squatted on the floor
which continued for nearly an hour. The Speaker finally adjourned the House initially for 40 minutes and
then till lunch. But pandemonium prevailed after the Assembly reconvened as there was no change in the
mood and the situation when the legislators gathered after lunch. So, the Speaker had to adjourn the
House again for the third time. Order was restored as the Assembly after 3.45 pm when a special debate
over the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) was conducted. Both ruling and Opposition leaders
convened separate press conferences in between the adjournments. While parliamentary affairs minister-
cum-deputy chief minister Raghubar Das accused the Opposition of creating unnecessary disturbances
to stall the government's important work, Vinod Singh of the CPI(ML) and RJD's Annapurna Devi said the
government's stand over corruption was just an eyewash. "Had the government been really serious about
corruption, it should not have hesitated in ordering a CBI probe into the biggest scam of the country,"
Annapurna said. JVM's Pradeep Yadav denied the government charge that the Opposition was doing
everything that was not parliamentary to stall the functioning of the government. "If our friends in the
ruling alliance could read out a parallel speech when the then governor was addressing the House during
Madhu Koda's reign, there is no violation if we have brought an adjournment motion," he argued. (Times
of India 11/3/10)
137 witnesses turn hostile in Parkash Singh Badal corruption case (5)
Chandigarh: With almost 137 witnesses turning hostile, the corruption case against CM Parkash Singh
Badal, his wife Surinder Kaur and son deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal is likely to fall flat. In the last
round, four witnesses will appear in the special court in Mohali on April 20, after which the much-hyped
case is expected to see a quiet burial The case was registered by the Vigilance Bureau (VB) during
Congress chief minister Amarinder Singh’s term in 2003. During the initial investigations the Badals were
reported to have amassed properties worth Rs2,300 crore, disproportionate to their sources of income.
However, in the challan it was bought down to Rs73.69 crore. The case started wilting after Badal took
over as chief minister in 2007. Making a turn-around in his stance that he had taken during the Congress
rule investigating officer (IO) Surinder Pal Singh told the court that he had filed the challan at the bidding
of his senior officer BK Uppal, the then DIG (VB). Uppal, while deposing in the court, said that the entire
case was prepared by the IO and that he just had a supervisory role. Earlier, eight eight engineers (six of
them have retired) said in the court that the investigating officer and the then DIG (Vigilance) BK Uppal
got their signatures under duress. They said the evaluation of the Badal’s properties was conducted by a
privately-engaged agency and the government engineers were asked to sign on the dotted lines without
seeing the contents of the reports. The VB officials who worked so assiduously for 5 years in the case say
there was nothing they could do if the witnesses (dna 10/4/10)
Congress attacks BJP for not taking action in corruption cases (5)
New Delhi: After the resignation of Shashi Tharoor as union minister in the wake of the IPL Kochi
controversy, Congress today said it has always taken a high moral ground and attacked the BJP for never
taking action in cases of alleged corruption, including that of Karnataka mining barons Reddy brothers.
"Congress has always taken a high moral ground. BJP has never done this whether it was Tehelka,
George Fernandes or the demolition of the Babri mosque," party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told
reporters outside Parliament House. Asked whether the BJP would feel vindicated after the resignation of
Tharoor as it had been consistently demanding so, Natarajan said, "BJP is quick to criticise but has never
taken action." She referred to the Reddy brothers in Karnataka as an example of the BJP not taking
action against alleged corruption. (dna 19/4/10)
Shashi Tharoor chapter closed, probe on into IPL scam: Congress (5)
New Delhi, Apr 21 : Asserting that former Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor's
resignation is a closed chapter, the Congress today said an inquiry into the corruption in IPL is underway
and once it reaches its conclusion the law will take its own course. The party also denied that the IPL
controversy has created a divide between the Congress and its ally NCP. Congress spokesman Manish
Tewari told mediapersons here that as a political party the Congress was more concerned about the BPL
than IPL. He said the party was concerned about the serious problems confronting the country, while as
far as IPL is concerned an inquiry process was underway. ''The unfortunate contours of Shashi Tharoor is
a closed chapter. The Minister has already resigned and addressed the Lok Sabha twice on the issue.
There is an inquiry process in IPL underway and if the process yields anything incriminating, the law will
take its own course.'' Asked Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel reportedly complaining that the Congress
had promoted his name in the IPL controversy, Mr Tewari said he had spoken to the Minister and the
latter had denied making any such statement which alluded or inferred that the Congress was dragging
his name in IPL controversy. He also denied that the IPL controversy has divided the Congress and the
NCP and said there was no problem between the two allies. ''What happens in the field of cricket remains
there only as there is a Chinese wall between the field of cricket and politics,'' he said. Mr Tewari refused
to divulge any details about the progress of the probe and the meeting that Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram had with Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on the IPL
controversy. The Congress sources indicated that the government could set up an Independent Regulator
for Commercial Sports which could regulate various leagues organising competitive sports be it cricket,
football or any other sports. The regulation and clearance by the regulatory body would reduce corruption.
The party has also advocated stopping monopoly of IPL and recognising ICL and other leagues to
promote competitive sports and also give respite to players who were not getting any time now. (New
Kerala 22/4/10)