Your flip-flop put me under pressure, Raval tells Vahanvati

May 01, 2013 01:02 am | Updated November 16, 2021 08:31 pm IST - New Delhi:

Additional Solicitor General Harin P. Raval, who resigned on Tuesday, maintained in his letter to Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati that the latter saw the ‘coal scam’ draft status report andsuggested certain changes.

In his two-page letter, Mr. Raval says: “You [AG] will kindly recall that on March 6 while I was in court, I received a message from your end, asking me to see the Law Minister at 12.30 p.m. with the status report. The message received by me was forwarded to the Jt. Director, CBI by me. You were also present when I reached slightly late. You would also kindly recall at the said meeting during the course of discussion the draft of only one of the status report of one of the preliminary enquiry was shown to the Law Minister and was perused by him as well as by you. Certain suggestions were made, including by you, to the CBI, some of which were accepted.”

Mr. Raval says he made no suggestions and goes on to say: “ will kindly further recall that you wanted to leave to attend the court for a mentioning matter, other status report of the investigation of 9 regular cases were requested by you to be shown to you in the evening at about 4.30 p.m. I was also asked to be present at your residential office. After you left, I left shortly thereafter. 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 matter was “mentioned on March 8” by Mr. Raval so he could “seek permission to file status report in sealed cover.” According to him, Mr. Vahanvati was present during the mentioning. “As a matter of fact, if my memory does not fail me, it was submitted by you that the status report contains much more details than what could be known to the court by an affidavit to be filed in compliance of the January 24 order,” he writes in the letter.

Yet, Mr. Raval tells Mr. Vahanvati, “while replying to the queries on March 12 as to what was contained in the status report, you had deemed it appropriate to take a stand that the contents of the status report were not known to you, which fact you knew to be incorrect.” As a result, Mr. Raval felt “embarrassed and was forced to take a stand in the court consistent with your submission made as Attorney General for India that the contents of the status report were not known to you and that they were not shared with the government.”

“It has constantly pained and anguished me that I have to face unnecessary indignation on account of your intolerant temperament towards conscientious discharge of duties especially in high profile cases,” the Additional Solicitor General tells Mr. Vahanvati. “I have held you in high esteem as leader of our team but your flip-flop attitude towards me has always put me under unnecessary pressure. I have a feeling that I am sought to be made scapegoat but I am confident that truth will always prevail.”

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