The Supreme Court on Monday told lawyer Prashant Bhushan that it would consider his allegation that CBI Director Ranjit Sinha frequently met people accused in the 2G scam, provided he named the source of his information in a sealed cover.
A Bench comprising Justices H.L. Dattu and S.A. Bobde said the affidavit filed by Mr. Bhushan, as the lawyer for the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, whose petition led the court to cancel 122 2G licences, was not in consonance with procedures on how information from whistleblowers should be passed on to the court as evidence. Mr. Bhushan had handed over the visitor register at the CBI chief’s residence and other documents to the court. He said a person dropped them at his house at night.
Bhushan’s charge will tarnish image: CBI chief
In response, CBI Director Ranjit Sinha told the Court that lawyer Prashant Bhushan’s allegation he met several persons accused in the 2G scam should be dismissed with “exemplary costs” as the source of his information was unknown.
“Unless the identity of the whistleblower is known, further proceedings based on the allegations raised would affect the sanctity of this court’s proceedings and the reputation of the CBI director,” senior lawyer Vikas Singh, appearing for Mr. Sinha, contended.
Mr. Bhushan hit back saying, “Why do you want to know the identity of the whistleblower? Identity of the whistleblower needs to given only if the court doubts the authenticity of the evidence.” “If we find there is something hanky-panky, we will order an investigation,” Justice Dattu observed.
The next date of hearing is September 22. Mr. Singh likened Mr. Bhushan’s explanation to someone saying, “I found a packet lying on the road, opened it to find these sensitive documents.” He also alleged that Mr. Bhushan was being “controlled by someone.”
“On the day Mr. Bhushan revealed to the court about the visitor’s register, a newspaper had already reported it that morning. How did they know Mr. Bhushan was going to do exactly that in court,” Mr. Singh asked. The court told Mr. Bhushan to part with the name of whistleblower in a sealed cover.