Raja, Kalmadi must be allowed to speak
By Nantoo Banerjee
When a government decides what is justifiable or non-justifiable before a court of law, it is actually making an attempt to pervert the course of justice. The definition of justice is very clear. It concerns the delivery of fair treatment to people with the help of laws based on the principles of fairness and justice. Legally, the court alone is entitled and empowered to decide what is justifiable or not justifiable for the purpose. The subject has assumed a great importance in view of the submission made before the court of law by former telecom minister Andimuthu Raja that the Prime Minister, the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram and then Attorney General Goolam Essaji Vahanvati were part of the process of decision making on 2G spectrum allocation. The government has strongly objected to Raja’s contention saying a statement of this nature dragging so many top names in the government by him at this stage can’t be admitted since he is an accused. Isn’t it an amazing demand?
An accused is not guilty of a crime unless and until proven and punished. An accused has every right to defend himself and name any or as may co-conspirator/s or co-accused in a case he chooses to prove his innocence. There are exceptions, though. In many democracies, such as the one in the USA, there are restrictions imposed on an accused producing witnesses and evidences in defence of his or her alleged crime before an ‘administrative court.’ But, it is no holds barred before the federal court. In every country and civilized society, it is the exclusive domain of the judicature to decide on the justifiability of any theory propounded by an accused in defence. Therefore, any effort to gag the accused would be seen as an attempt to pervert the course of justice.
Raja was an honourable minister in the UPA government. He was an important member of the council of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. His 2G spectrum allocation policy was defended to the hilt by the government, which found nothing wrong in it and causing no revenue loss to the exchequer until the Supreme Court stepped in and put its foot down in the matter compelling Raja to get out and subsequently locate himself in the CBI custody. Raja’s defence counsel has been strongly pleading for his bail from the Tihar Jail on the ground that Raja had done nothing illegal in the allocation of 2G spectrum to private bidders. The counsel said Raja has been maintaining right from the beginning that he did not act arbitrarily in the business of the spectrum allocation. Raja has been consistent in claiming that he sought and got Vahanvati’s advice, Chidambaram’s nod and the prime minister’s silent consent on his controversial spectrum allocation act. All the concerned bodies, including the TRAI and the PMO, Raja maintained, were in the loop and party to his decision.
The case is still in the evolving stage. Once the full charge-sheet by the CBI is placed before the court and the SC starts full hearing in the matter, Raja may come out with some real tangible evidences and witnesses in support of his claim of innocence. It may be another matter that the CBI and the government may like to further delay the case, as they did before the SC stepped in. They are likely to defend Chidambaram and the PMO to the hilt and prevent Raja from exposing more skeletons from the government cupboard. However, Raja knows very well that he can escape most of the CBI charges if he can conclusively prove the involvement of other top functionaries in the government and the collusion of other large industrial houses which may have, till now, managed to stay out of the CBI and judicial glare. The case looks very interesting at this stage and the government must not try to gag Raja’s defence, directly or indirectly. The probity demands that the people of the country know the exact nature of this case – the mother of all scams, so far.
Interestingly, a similar attempt is also being made to gag Suresh Kalmadi’s defence in the multi-billion dollar CWG contracts allocation case. Kalmadi too was doggedly defended by the government until the judicial intervention. He moved freely for many months after the full-blown reports of massive financial bungling by CWG’s organising committee (OC), of which Kalmadi was the chairman, occupied the national media spotlight. He was allowed to officially represent India to a world archery event in China from where he went to Monaco, a tax haven, on a private trip. He challenged the CWG scam reports and repeatedly asserted that he would resign as OC chief only if asked by the PM or Sonia Gandhi.
Kalmadi too was dumped after the court intervened in the case. Kalmadi, a Congress strongman from Pune in Maharashtra and a member of Lok Sabha, was extremely hurt by the way the government suddenly distanced itself from his acts of commissions and omissions in the CWG Organising Committee. Kalmadi had openly challenged his detractors and maintained that the OC handled an insignificant amount of money if compared with other government agencies involved in CWG’s highly extravagant and controversial procurement drive. Kalmadi may be quite right. He is unlikely to be the lone key offender of squandering the public money and robbing the exchequer.
The latest 744-page report of the CAG, which clearly exhibited the roles played by the Delhi administration, including the offices of the Chief Minister Sheila Dixit and Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna, former Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy, former Sports Minister M S Gill and the office of the Prime Minister, corroborates what Kalmadi has been saying. Kalmadi is a star accused as well as a star witness in the CWG scam. The latest reports of Kalmadi suffering from dementia and incoherent speech problem, which proved to be incorrect after a thorough medical check-up, are very disturbing. Kalmadi knows everything about Delhi CWG, real culprits behind mega deals, the big beneficiaries and the money trail. He should remain in good health until the pendency of the case and, more importantly, allowed to speak freely before the court of law even if that means dragging names of some of the country’s most powerful political personalities. It is for the court to establish the veracity of his depositions.
Jailed Raja, Kalmadi, Balwa, Madhu Koda and Hassan Ali are among the most prized accused in the multi-billion dollar loot of the country. Among them, Koda has switched camps and is close to the UPA. He has managed to stay out of the news for some time and even obtained permission to attend Lok Sabha from the court. The CBI had once claimed Koda was involved in a Rs. 4,000-crore tax evasion cum havala case. A robbery of such gigant (IPA Service)