The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the “alleged inaction and silence” on the part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for 16 months in taking a decision on a private complaint seeking sanction for prosecution of A. Raja, who has since resigned as Telecom Minister, in the 2G spectrum scam.
“The Prime Minister could have said that the material on record was insufficient and declined sanction but he could not have sat over the complaint for 16 months,” observed Justice A.K. Ganguly, who was on a two-judge Bench presided over by Justice G.S. Singhvi.
The Bench was hearing a special leave petition filed by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy for a direction to the Prime Minister to grant sanction for prosecution of Mr. Raja. It asked Solicitor-General (SG) Gopal Subramaniam, representing the Prime Minister, to go through records and inform the court on Thursday what action was taken on Dr. Swamy's complaint.
Dr. Swamy, citing the judgment in the Vineet Narain case, said the sanctioning authority (SA) should decide one way or the other within three months and must act independently on the material placed on record. However, since Mr. Raja had now resigned, no sanction was required for his prosecution, Dr. Swamy said, adding he must be permitted to file the private complaint in the competent court.
The SG said it was open to the SA to look into other material before arriving at a decision. He said the three-month period mentioned in the Vineet Narain case pertained to cases where investigation had been completed. It was open to the SA to await the result of the probe for a proper decision.
Justice Ganguly told the SG: “The three months' time for grant of sanction laid down by the Supreme Court is for the purpose of fair and good governance. The judgment says the SA will not be influenced by extraneous materials. We find it is now more than 16 months. The SA can say I am not inclined to give sanction. But we find alleged inaction and silence for 16 months.”
Justice Ganguly referred to the Prime Minister's reply sent to Dr. Swamy on March 19, 2010 that he wanted to wait for further material or await CBI investigation, and said “for the PM saying it is premature [to decide on sanction] is what is troubling us.”
Justice Ganguly said: “The SA can say ‘yes' or ‘no', but to say premature means the complainant has not got that right yet. You look at the language of the letter and the tenor of the reply. Communication coming from a constitutional authority like the Prime Minister has to be carefully used.”
Keywords: 2G spectrum allocation scam, A. Raja, DMK-Congress ties, CAG report, PMO, Manmohan, court strictures
I would like to highlight the point that Mr.Sitaram Yechury made yesterday; he said that the magnitude of the scam was too large and the person in question held the highest post in the country. So instead of drawing conclusions on media reports it would be only fitting for the people and the opposition to hear from the PMO. When the PM has shielded A.Raja from these accusation then it is his responsibility to clear the air about 2G Scam and re-install faith in the minds of the opposition and the people of India at large. The integrity of the Prime Minister is not in question here as pointed out by some of the Congressmen and neither can the opposition be criticized for voicing their concerns over the issue. Even the opposition leaders want the PM to come out clean. The PM had mentioned at the celebration of 150 years of CAG that there is a faint line that separates criticism from a genuine mistake and asked them to distinguish between the two carefully as their reports can send shock waves across the nation (as seen in the case of 2G Scam). So it will be fitting on our part to wait for the Attorney General to represent the PM and tell their side of the story.
Mr Subramanyam Swamy has nit the nail on the head by stating in the court that PM had forwarded the letter, sent by Swamy, to Mr Raja, for replying to Swamy. If PM felt that there was no merit in the issue for him to personally reply, then why made Raja quit the cabinet after 1 year? Our silent messiah who time and again is credited with turning the Indian economy around, was not aware or could sense the enormity of the issue when it cropped up in 2007 itself? Are the ministers in the cabinet above him? Does the hierarchy provide for a minister to overlook/ignore PM's advice on any matter? The media and two paid channels in particular are bending backwards to show PM as clean without bothering to go behind the issue and unearth massive bribe behind it. The Hindu should lead in unravelling the mystery. LA Bofors in bigger magnitude is presenting itself before the Editor in chief.
Do we have an equivalent article of 356, to be imposed on Union Government. When the law and order is disturbed in a State, the Union Govt imposes Article 356. Why not it be imposed on a Union Government to have President's rule with all the ministers of the ministries involved in this lapse barred to contest in future.
Narasimha Rao, ex PM, used to say that not making a decision is itself a decision! I guess that PM Singh must have taken a leaf out of Rao's book! But, even Rao would not have observed the monumental silence that Singh maintained. Is this an instance where 'Silence is golden'?
Why 16 months? The Left had been shouting its lungs out since the last three years. Who cares...after all Dr MS's govt. is not dependent on them.
India is a country where the time rules are flouted by one and all. There have been instances of people dying as undertrial prisoners waiting for judgement. The instances of people spending months in jails and released as innocents thereafter are very common; brazenly violating his rights.nobody worries-neither the government nor the judiciary. Someday we will have judicial system whereby the courts will burn midnight lamp to ensure that nobody spends even one night in jail as undertrial prisoner. In the instance PM may not have taken any action because he was not in a position to do so. This is very common in multi party govt. The only regret is that the PM could have walked the moral high ground if he had given the permission without fear of survival of government.He might have had to resign as statesman PM(which we all know he is) than surviving simply as politician PM. But such things are easier said than done.
Instead of lecturing the PM and asking questions to the PM it is better if the SC devotes its time and energy to curing the rot in India's judicial system.
When the two pillars of democracy i.e the executive and the legislature have failed in delivering the good its a little heartening to see the judiciary acting.But at the same time its sad that the question people of the nation were asking for more than an year now must reach our rulers through the courts.Are we still democracy by the people, for the people and by the people? If yes then where are those PEOPLE ?
If sincerity, ingeniousness and obedience make a good be bureaucrat, it is decisiveness and commitment that define a good leader. If the Economic Liberalization that he masterminded as the Finance Minister of P.V.Narasimha Rao gained Dr.Manmohan Singh the reputation of a proven genius, it didn't give him any further leverage to be a statesman than a mediocre civil servant in the country. What any nation needs is a flamboyant leader who doesn't hesitate in taking decisions or flinch in carrying them out. By making frivolous remarks over critical issues and delaying the justice to meted out to the citizens of India,which in this case was to sanction a scrutiny of the complaint, Dr.Manmohan Singh does not just stoop to the level of an average politician, but also gives up his reputation among his subjects as the leader who held the nation from falling into the abyss during the economic recession.At the same time, the court's intervention reiterates the faith of the laymen in the Indian Judiciary and is highly appreciated.
I am happy that at least the SC is asking the tough questions. The brazen manner in which criminal politicians are looting the country is unbelievable.
The Apex Court's question,'Why was PM silent for 16 months" is a pertinent and poignant question.When a person like Mr Manmohan Singh is the PM, his office is expected to gauge the validity of the complaint within no time and delve deep into it. Given the size of the money and misuse of power involved in the scam,the PM should have come up with a sound and valid reason for his long silence and inaction.Definitely,the case and the complaint are not premature,but the response to it is.
Isn't it ironic that it is these people, who actively or otherwise through inaction contribute to impropriety in public positions are the ones to vote on the impeachment of judges? Just as Jesus said "those who are not sinners can throw stones at me". Is there any provision in our Constitution whereby our Supreme Court can decree that only those MP's against whom there is no serious charges or criminal cases pending, can vote in any impeachment proceedings (at least)?
I don't know when our country is going to get a politician with the mentality of serving the people.Indian politics and the way of governing must be changed, then only we can prosper and develop in all way.
It is indeed surprising that despite his eminence Dr. Swamy is not aware of his Legal Duty under section 39(1)(iii) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, which places a legal duty on everyone so aware with any act or intention to commit corruption [section 161 to 165A of the IPC has been replaced with the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988]. if this is not done, the person so aware can be punished under sections 176 and 202 of the Indian Penal Code.No permission from any Court or Authority is needed to file a Complaint. Since Dr. Swamy is aware of the Spectrum Scam, he is legally duty bound to file his complaint before the Court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, having Jurisdiction over the Telecom Ministry building. Let us hope he perfoms his legal duty rather than hogging media highlight without performing his legal duty.Let us hope the Hon'ble Supreme Court will also read the law books and ask Dr. Swamy to act in accordance with law, and settle the matter once and for all times to come...
As pointed out by CAG, Raja is not the only one in 2G scam. What about bureacrats, beneficiary companies, telecom lobbies, TRAI? Removal of Raja is the first step, next comes a thorough enquiry into the 1.76 crore loot. Supreme Court has rightly questioned the PMO for its inability to take any action on Mr. Subramanium Swamy's allegations. Infact it was PM himself who gave a defence of Mr. Raja in a news conference few months back stating that he has just followed the rules. Its very much obvious that Govt wants to avoid a JPC on this issue. We must remember that a Captain is as good as his team and his behaviour can't be seen in isolation to his team. Much larger fish and many big corporate houses with telecom interests are involved in this. The need of the hour is an enquiry either by JPC or under the supervision of Supreme Court. Ultimately, the truth has to prevail and the culprits have to be punished. Moreover, either the 2G spectrum allocation should be cancelled or the beneficiary companies should be asked to shellout more monies. Indian public can't be cheated in such brazen fashion for too long. Thanks to media and civil society groups for being vocal on recent corruption issues.
Nobody is questioning the personal integrity of the Prime Minister. But it does appear that his UPA has outsourced corruption to expendable men - like Kalmadi, Raja etc and allow them to function until the loot is over. PV.Narasimha Rao was honest in a sense. To survive the coalition politics he had to bribe and he arranged the same. He was a victim, unlike the current Management. The PM and Mrs Sonia Gandhi can come out clean by doing the following - 1)Cancel all Spectrum Licences issued during the last 3 years. Yes it will be challenged in the Court. Let it be. Our honorable judges read newspaper too. There should be a new licencing, final allotted list, rates and agreement details of which should be published in atleast 2 newspapers, regionally, nationwide. 2)A law should be enacted whereby if a Minister or official is found guilty of bribery over 1 crore, he should get a jail term of 10 years. Now what we see is that people loot and escape with a resignation or a lost job / lost contract. What about loss to the treasury and the punishment to the crime committed? Kalmadis and Rajas are currently laughing their lungs out after the "punishment&" termination.
Your reporting on all legal matters have been found to be excellent in terms of content and objectivity. It is because of correspondents like you that The Hindu is still being appreciated and read by the discerning readers, in spite of the unfair/biased editorial content, on several occasions.
The Apex Court's question,'Why WAS PM SILENT FOR 16 MONTHS' is a pertinent and poignant question.When a person like Mr Manmohan Singh is the PM, his office is expected to gauge the validity of the complaint within no time and delve deep into it. Given the size of the money and misuse of power involved in the scam,the PM should have come up with a sound and valid reason for his long silence and inaction.Definitely,the case and the complaint are not premature,but the response to it is.
If PM was active and had taken action on Raja then itself , nation would not have lost this much money . With this i can say the offender is Raja not alone but the whole govt led by PM whatever their political compulsions. This is deplorable and suggests that every one is let loose to squander the money of the nation. Mr.Manmohansingh is a great economist, a man of great integrity and moral values .But as a Prime Minister if he is unauthoritative, inactive and silent over 2G causing a great loss of income to the exchequer and allowing every one let loose to squander the money of the nation. Time has come for PM to assert his authority and integrity and if he is not allowed , better to resign.
It shows how helplesss our prime minister is and as a obedient worker he is doing duty to remain in power for benefit of Congress and not for our great country Hindustan .
This is a very valid questions and we need pretty honest answer from our PM. Its a shame that he has never questioned Raja on this entire episode even when there was so much hue and cry about it.
"Personal integrity" in politics although good, is not valuable beyond a certain point. Our prime minister is the best example. It is good that he is "honest". However, he would have made a difference only if corruption scams (such as CWG, 2G, Adarsh etc.) did not take right under his nose. Of what use is his integrity, if he cannot ensure that his government doesn't include crooks. Having said that, he is still better than some crook becoming the prime minister any day. However, he cannot get much credit for his "integrity" if he cannot ensure the integrity of his government. A captain is not judged by his performance, but by the performance of the whole team.
I know why Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took 16 months to respond, rather evasively, to the plea for prosecution of A Raja: he wanted to save his coalition government at any cost. At the end of the day, Manmohan Singh is just another politician who will cling to power and do the bidding of the ruling dynasty at any cost. It was naive of us to suppose that our soft-spoken, mild-mannered prime minister was strong-willed or had an unflinching commitment to rectitude in public life.
When the countrymen seems dispensable, good that some judges are taking up the agenda of good governance. Our "good" (to everyone) PM cannot run the country and be "good" to everyone! He needs to act if he does not want to be remembered by history as a proxy PM saving the PMO for the heir apparent! Kudos to the judges for pointing out the issues (rotting grains, inaction by PM), which would be attributed to political motivation if raised by 'we the people'!
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