In a blow to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Supreme Court ruled today that the agency had “erroneously” held for over a year the passport of Suresh Nanda, allegedly involved in the Barak missile deal, “without following the due process of law.” The agency has been directed to release Nanda’s passport in a week.A bench of Justices P P Naolekar and Markandey Katju severely criticised the agency for overlooking the provisions of law: it found that the passport of Nanda, allegedly involved in kickbacks in the Rs 1,150 crore missile deal, was seized under provisions of the CrPC instead of the Passport Act, which deals with all issues relating to passports.In what might create trouble for former defence minister George Fernandes, the court has also asked CBI why it hasn’t questioned the Janata Dal (U) leader, as alleged by Nanda in his affidavit.Nanda, son of former Navy Chief Admiral S M Nanda, is under CBI’s scanner for alleged involvement in the defence deal with an Israel firm. According to CBI, Nanda is alleged to have received Rs 4 billion from abroad, the source of which was not disclosed, and there was sufficient evidence to prove his involvement in the deal. While restoring his passport, the bench ruled, “We set aside the Delhi High Court’s order and direct CBI to hand over the passport to Nanda within a week.”
