Not just the law Minister, but the Attorney General too saw the status report in the coal allocation scam before the CBI presented the same to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover on March 8.
This latest revelation, which forms part of the CBI affidavit to be filed in the apex court on Monday, could put Attorney General GE Vahanvati in serious trouble. The AG had told the court that he did not see the report despite attending a meeting chaired the law Minister to discuss the report with the CBI director.
In addition, the contents of the latest affidavit discussed by the CBI director with CBI special counsel UU lalit may also indicate the changes proposed by the law Minister. According to sources, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha is expected to point out in his affidavit that the law Minister had proposed a 'dilution' of language in the document. The agency may indicate that the objection of the Minister was with regard to a final view being taken by the agency on rules for allocation of coal blocks.
One of the petitioners in the coal scam PIl, Common Cause, had informed the court on April 30, the last date of hearing, that the changes proposed in the report concerned shielding of three companies. The bench had taken serious exception to this charge and warned the CBI of taking an "adverse view" of the same. But the more damning aspect of CBI affidavit could be the comment on the AG. Sinha's affidavit may acknowledge the fact that the AG had a greater role to play than mere seeing of the report. According to sources, the AG too "proposed" changes to the status report, after having gone through it.
Appearing in court on the previous hearing in the coalgate, the AG referred to the March 5 meeting where the CBI director shared the probe report with the law Minister and said, "I agree I was sitting there… but I have never seen the draft (report)," a comment that may haunt him on his next appearance in the court on May 8. Already, sufficient embarrassment was caused to the AG following the resignation of law officer Harin Raval who appeared for CBI in this case. Raval, who wrote a letter to the AG and the law Minister, prior to his resignation had accused the AG of lying to the court on having seen the CBI report.
Giving details about the meeting with the law Minister, Raval had said, "At the said meeting, during the course of discussions, the draft of only one of status reports of the preliminary enquiries was shown to the law Minister and was perused by him as well as by you (AG). Certain suggestions were made, including by you, to the CBI, some of which were accepted."
The letter further revealed, "You will recall that as you wanted to leave, to attend court… other status report of the investigations of the nine regular cases (in the coal block scam) were requested to be shown to you in the evening… In compliance of the above, the CBI officials brought the drafts, which were perused and settled by you. Sir, I was present in your residential office."
The CBI affidavit is expected to confirm this fact and also point out to the court that ASG Raval had misled the court on March 12 by stating that the status report was not shared with the political executive. However, on the court's query whether the CBI Manual permitted the agency to share probe reports with law Minister or any other official of Government, the agency is likely to justify its act by suggesting that its Manual is silent in this regard.
Besides, the affidavit of CBI would also name the two Joint Secretaries in the PMO and Coal Ministry with whom the CBI shared the probe report as desired by them.