The Hindu : Rao cleared in bribery case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 16, 2002

Front Page

Front Page

Rao cleared in bribery case
By Our Staff Reporter

The former Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, who has been acquitted by the Delhi High Court in the JMM MPs bribery case, with the former Prime Ministers, H. D. Deve Gowda and Chandra Shekhar, when the latter called on him at his residence on Friday. Mr. Rao's counsel, R. K. Anand, is also seen. - PTI

NEW DELHI, MARCH 15. The Delhi High Court today set aside the trial court judgment sentencing the former Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, and his then Cabinet colleague, Buta Singh, in the multi-crore Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MPs bribery case on October 12, 2000. The Court found ``material contradictions/improvements'' in the statements of Shailendra Mahato on whose statement as an approver the CBI had built up the case.

The Court found a glaring infirmity in the CBI's failure to prove the ``closed-door meeting'' conspiracy theory involving Mr. Rao, Mr. Singh and the JMM leader, Suraj Mandal, by producing independent evidence to corroborate ``the cornerstone'' of the case.

``There was nothing stopping them (CBI) from corroborating this important fact by calling the former Union Law Minister, Ram Jethmalani, and the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, into the witness box,'' Justice R.S. Sodhi said.

``The very fact that the prosecution, knowing its case fully well, did not deliberately examine Mr. Vajpayee or Mr. Jethmalani as prosecution witnesses shows that this introduction by the approver of the closed-door meeting was merely a red herring,'' the Judge said.

After three years of the alleged incident of bribery for managing deficient numbers to defeat a no-confidence motion against the then Narasimha Rao Government put to vote in the Lok Sabha on July 28, 1993, Mahato for the first time confided about it to Mr. Vajpayee, the then Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, who sent him to Mr. Jethmalani, who dictated a press note regarding the matter which Mahato had released at a press conference here in February 1996.

To prove the ``contradictions/improvements'' in the statements of Mahato, Justice Sodhi referred to four statements which the approver had made outside as well as before the trial court. They were, the press statement dictated by Mr. Jethmalani on February 26, 1996; a confession application filed in a magisterial court here on March 16, 1997; a confession statement made in the court of then Metropolitan Magistrate, Harish Dudani, on March 23, 1997; and the deposition made in the trial court between, November, 14, 1997, and November 28, 1997.

The press note had no reference to the allegation that Buta Singh had invited the then four JMM MPs - Mahato, Simon Marandi, Suraj Mandal and Shibu Soren - at his residence while Mahato interpolated it into his confession application. However, there was mention in it of the allegation of the four MPs going to Mr. Rao's residence, the Judge said in his 95-page judgment.

In his confession statement, Mahato had omitted the invitation issue as well as the matter of the JMM MPs along with Mr. Buta Singh visiting Mr. Rao's residence on 7, Race Course, Mr. Justice Sodhi said.

Stating that the allegation of the ``closed-door'' meeting between Mr. Rao, Mr. Singh and Mandal was for the first time introduced by Mahato in his confession statement, the Judge said it was a clear improvement on Mahato's past statements.

Mr. Justice Sodhi saw contradictions in what Mr. Mahato said about the persons who went into a separate room at Mr. Rao's residence to have a close-door meeting with Mr. Rao The judge also ruled out that money, as alleged by the CBI, was ever an item for discussion at the meeting between Mr. Rao and the JMM MPs.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

Stories in this Section

Central emissary receives 'shila'; Ayodhya breathes easy

Govt. has failed the nation: Sonia

Rao cleared in bribery case

Rocca meets Ranil

Internet telephony

Extradition not now: Pak

Damages on Span Motels to be used for flood protection: SC

Pak. crackdown on publications, websites of militant outfits

BJD expels Ray

Minor fire at Shastri Bhavan