HC backs SIT, cops frame Sharma

Reaffirming its trust in a special team from Maharashtra which is probing the fake stamp scandal, the Bombay High Court on Thursday kept on ...

Reaffirming its trust in a special team from Maharashtra which is probing the fake stamp scandal, the Bombay High Court on Thursday kept on hold a decision to hand over the case to the CBI.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice C K Thakker and Justice Abhay Oka, however, asked the investigators to cooperate with the central agency which is investigating the racket in other states.

	Sharma being wrongly targeted: Counsel

			MUMBAI: Investigators are ‘‘wrongly’’ targeting R.S. Sharma for lapses in the Telgi investigation despite evidence suggesting the involvement of many senior policemen and ministers in the scam, the former Mumbai police commissioner’s counsel told the Bombay High Court on Thursday. V.R. Manohar said the names figuring in a diary of scam mastermind Abdul Karim Telgi include that of ministers and several top police officials across 17 states. While accusing the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of ‘‘settling’’ personal scores with Sharma. (ENS) Story continues below this ad

The order to let the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by retired DGP S S Puri continue with the investigation came in the face of arguments by Additional Solicitor General Shirish Gupte representing the CBI, who said that since the scam was spread over 17 states, ‘‘CBI will be in a better position’’ to handle the probe.

Gupte however, added that the CBI had no problems with the SIT handling the probe, but expressed the agency’s willingness to take over if the high court asked it to. He said the CBI’s earlier stand, presented by his predecessor S B Jaisinghani, was an error.

Even Advocate General Goolam Vahanvati told the court that the state had no objection to the CBI taking over the case. But Vahanvati also referred to an earlier hearing of the high court in which Jaisinghani had produced a letter from the CBI to the effect that it was over burdened with cases and therefore was not interested in taking up the probe.

He also read out an affidavit filed in July by state Home Secretary U K Mukhopadhya who had attended a meeting in New Delhi where it was decided that CBI would not take up the fake stamp paper probe in Maharashtra as it was overburdened and that the Union Home Ministry would form a committee to coordinate between the CBI and SIT.

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Majeed Memon described the CBI’s desire to take over the probe as a ‘‘volte face’’. He told the court that the agency had earlier washed its hands off the probe by maintaining that ‘‘it was short of the requisite manpower to carry out the investigations’’.

Memon stated since SIT was ‘‘doing excellent work,’’ it be allowed to continue with its investigations. He added that the state’s desire to hand over the case to CBI smacks of ‘‘political motivations.’’

The division bench asked the CBI to wait for some time and observed that it won’t pass any order at this juncture. It would consider passing appropriate orders to hand over the probe at an appropriate stage, the judges said. The case will be next heard on January 16.

	FROM SIT REPORT: EX-COMMISSIONER’S NINE DEADLY SINS

			EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Mumbai, November 27 Former Mumbai police commissioner R.S. Sharma is ‘‘guilty of woeful dereliction of duty, poor professional response and failure to personally intervene and take immediate correctives in several situations.’’ That is the essence of the charges framed against Sharma by investigators probing the multi-crore fake stamps racket run by Abdul Karim Telgi. Story continues below this ad Eight of Sharma’s nine acts of ‘‘omission and commission,’’ which the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has mentioned in a report, are mentioned in the chargesheet. Details of the charges were first reported by NDTV 24×7. The charges against Sharma are: • He failed to personally intervene and take immediate corrective steps while filing a chargesheet and applying the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case. He was commissioner in Pune where the first case was registered by on June 7, 2002. • He failed to look at the case papers when then additional commissioner (crime) S.M. Mushriff alleged that names had been included and deleted from the chargesheet. • Asoke Basak, additional chief secretary (Home), told Sharma about the bribe demanded by ACP Mulani, a member of the investigating team in Pune. Sharma did not remove Mulani from the team. Story continues below this ad • Sharma failed to restore command and control when differences surfaced between Additional Commissioner Mushriff and the investigating officer. • As commissioner of Pune, Sharma knew that the joint commissioner and additional commissioner had scuttled a proposal to apply MCOCA, and when they eventually applied it, the charges were framed in a defective manner. But Sharma didn’t rectify the defects. • DIG Subodh Jaiswal of SIT and Sri Kumar, additional director general of Karnataka Police, briefed Sharma on January 9, 2003 when they found Telgi at his Cuffe Parade flay instead of being in police custody. Sharma (as Mumbai commissioner) had ordered the suspension of assistant inspector Dilip Kamath, officer in charge, but failed to ensure compliance of his orders. • An officer from the CID’s MCOCA cell had submitted to then joint commissioner S S Vagal a report regarding scrutiny of cases of counterfeit stamps registered in Mumbai since 1991. Vagal (later arrested in the case) was member of a special task force formed to investigate the case while Sharma was its chairman. Sharma failed to clean the force on the basis of details available with Vagal. Story continues below this ad • Sri Kumar, had on March 4, 2003, communicated information regarding bail granted to Telgi in a case registered in Mumbai. Sharma merely initialled the letter which later went to Vagal. Sharma failed to promptly neutralise the functionaries responsible for allowing Telgi to obtain bail on flimsy grounds. Sharma has been asked to reply to the chargesheet within 10 days. Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and Director General of Maharashtra Police S M Shingari declined to comment on the chargesheet.