Panel declines plea for deposition of Jaya Jaitly

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 21. The Venkataswami Commission today declined ``outright'' a plea for deposition of the former Samata Party president, Ms. Jaya Jaitly, in connection with allegations that the Tehelka tapes were ``doctored'', even as the portal charged the Government with drawing ``mala fide inferences'' to impute economic motives to its expose.

The Commission asked various parties, who alleged that the tapes were not authentic and some parts were inserted in it, to submit expert reports, if any, to back their contention and said Ms. Jaitly would be called for cross-examination with others last in the proceedings.

Seeking the appearance of Ms. Jaitly before any decision was taken by the Commission whether the tapes should be sent to a forensic lab for examination of tampering, counsel for Tehelka said, ``If the witness is demolished during the cross- examination itself, then there is no need for the Commission to consider the issue, thereby saving its time.'' The former Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, had alleged that Tehelka's claim of bribing the Samata Party, especially Ms. Jaitly, to get a defence deal cleared at his residence was a camera trick of insertions and nothing else.

After considering the argument of Tehelka, the Commission said the decision whether the tapes should be sent for examination to a forensic lab would be taken only after it was prima facie established by experts that there was a need to do so. Refuting the charges of ``economic motives'' behind the expose, Tehelka, in its affidavit, said the Government was ``drawing all kinds of tendentious, mischievous and mala fide inferences... to impute improper motives to tehelka.com''.

- PTI

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