The CBI will examine former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon in connection with coal block allotment to Hindalco following a directive by the trial court on Tuesday. Agency sources said that Singh along with his former Principal Secretary TKA Nair, and his then Private Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam will also be examined by the agency.
The trial court on Tuesday directed Central Bureau of Investigation to examine Singh and other officials to report by January 27.
“We will comply with the court orders and submit the status report as directed,” a CBI official said.
In a 50-page judgement, Special Judge Bharat Parashar rejected a closure report presented by CBI in the allotment of Talabira-II coal block to Hindalco and directed the probe agency to conduct further investigation by examining the role played by then Coal Minister Manmohan Singh and officials of the Prime Minister’s Office.
The judge said, “I am of the considered opinion that before the matter is examined further as to what offence, if any, stands committed or by whom the same has been committed, it will be appropriate that the then Minister for Coal (Singh) be first examined qua various aspects of the matter and also in light of the observations made by this court in the present order,” the judge said.
In addition to Singh, the bench referred to BVR Subramanyam, the then PS to the Prime Minister, who was not examined and TKA Nair, working as then Principal Secretary in the PMO, who although was examined, expressed his inability to answer some questions claiming to be not in a frame of mind to answer further questions.
“It will be appropriate if the investigating officer examines BVR Subrahmanyam and re-examines TKA Nair,” the judge said seeking a progress report on January 27.
The court came to the conclusion from documents recovered during the probe coupled with the fact that Birla had met Singh, Coal Secretary PC Parakh and others. Birla wrote two letters to Singh that showed a “concerted effort” being made to “manipulate” the entire system, the special judge said.
“When such meetings are seen in the overall facts and circumstances as mentioned above coupled with the follow up action which resulted at the administrative level in the Government then it certainly raises eyebrows,” the court said.
The case pertains to allocation of Talabira-II coal block in Odisha to M/s HINDAlCO. The CBI had earlier lodged an FIR against Kumar Mangalam Birla, former Coal Secretary PC Parakh, M/s Hindalco Industries ltd among others for the offence under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. It later filed a closure report in the case on August 27 this year to which CBI Special Public Prosecutor RS Cheema objected.
While directing CBI to question Manmohan Singh and others, the court observed that members of the screening committee and Ministry of Coal, including the Ministers heading it, were acting as trustees of important nationalised natural resources of the country. It referred to the documents placed before it by CBI and felt certain “loose ends” required to be tied up in order to obtain a “clear and comprehensive picture”.
The court, however, clarified that it was not questioning the discretion vested either with the screening committee or the Prime Minister as Minister for Coal but it was primarily the manner in which “this discretion has been exercised which is subject to judicial review.”
“The moot question to be examined is as to whether the procedure laid down as per law or the guidelines earlier framed were duly followed in the entire process of allocation of coal block to HINDAlCO or not. It also needs to be seen as to under what circumstances a deviance from the settled rules/ regulations or the guidelines laid down was effected,” it noted.