Date:07/08/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/08/07/stories/2007080776741200.htm

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Further ED adjudication proceedings against Natwar Singh, son stopped

Nirnimesh Kumar

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday restrained the Enforcement Directorate from conducting further adjudication proceedings against former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and his son Jagat Singh on their appeals challenging a single-judge Bench order of the Court dismissing their plea for directions to the Union Government to provide them all documents collected by it relating to the oil-for-food scam in Iraq in 2006.

Restraining the Directorate from proceeding further in the matter, a Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Kailash Gambhir also reserved judgment on the appeals.

The Bench said in its order that the Directorate would not conduct the proceedings till further orders.

Justice B.D. Ahmed of the Court had dismissed their petitions saying that a Supreme Court ruling had said that accused persons could make claims for supply of only those documents which prosecuting agencies relied on for their prosecution.

The two had moved the Court following issuance of notices to them and four others by the Directorate after the Justice R.S. Pathak Inquiry Authority report was made public by the Centre last year.

The report was about the scam money allegedly paid to Indian entities whose names figured in the United Nations’ Volcker Committee report.

Their argument was that if they were supplied all the documents collected by the Government relating to the scam, they would be in a better position to put their cases before the Directorate.

The Directorate had sought replies from them on the point of alleged violations of different provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) following the alleged receipt of the scam money by them.