Krishna says no to CBI probe

NEERJA CHOWDHURY NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 25 Taking a U-turn, Maharashtra Chief Minister S...

Even as Chief Minister S.M. Krishna on Tuesday expressed the state’s reservation to hand over the fake stamp paper probe to the CBI, the investigating agency said it required no consent to take up the inquiry after the Centre entrusted the task to it.

Apparently reacting to the Centre’s decision to rope in the CBI to investigate the racket, which surfaced in various states including Congress-ruled Karnataka and Maharashtra, Krishna said: ‘‘No, we will not hand over the case to the CBI.’’

‘‘We have already filed chargesheets in the case and the special court has commenced trial. It will be asked to speed up the trial,’’ he added.

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In a bid to wriggle out of the crisis arising out of the Centre’s decision to refer the case to the CBI, the S.M. Krishna administration has already asked its Law Department to examine the issue threadbare.

Meanwhile, Mysore District Civil and Sessions Judge A.T. Manoli, appointed as special judge to try the racket in the state, took charge at the special court here on Monday. But court proceedings did not commence as the case files and documents were yet to be transferred.

‘‘Once we get those papers, the trial will start on a day-to-day basis,’’ he said. Hearings are expected from next week.

The judge refused to comment on whether the CBI’s taking over of the case will have any bearing on the trial and whether all cases against Abdul Karim Telgi will be tried in the special court.

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The Law Department is now busy scanning the statute books to see if the Centre can override the state’s powers in sensitive cases, such as the one in hand, sources said.

After the Union Finance Ministry asked for a probe by a Central agency, the Centre directed the CBI to take over the investigations. The state government had, so far, refused to refer the case to the CBI as it said its own special investigation team was doing good work.

Karnataka is the only state where the CBI has to take permission before taking up any case as the government here has imposed a blanket ban on the agency’s operations for the past five years.

Armed with a Gujarat High Court directive, CBI sleuths are likely to visit the city to question Telgi. The agency is investigating a fake stamp paper case referred to them by the Gujarat government in 2002.

	Shinde may revise his stand

			NEERJA CHOWDHURY NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 25 Taking a U-turn, Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has reportedly made up his mind to hand over the multi-crore Telgi scam inquiry to the CBI. Congress sources say this may happen on November 27, provided that the CBI asks the court to entrust the investigation to it. There were strong indications at the AICC headquarters here that the Maharashtra government was revising its stand. Story continues below this ad Two days ago, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh had asked the CBI to conduct a full-fledged inquiry into the scam. Also, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani had tried to put the Congress in the defensive, by saying that the party was ‘‘reluctant’’ for a CBI probe into the racket. The governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka have so far withstood the demand for a CBI prove, even though 19 states have been affected by the Rs 30,000-crore scam. ‘‘Why should we hold out when Sharad Pawar is for a CBI probe?’’ said a senior Congress leader here. So far, the ruling Democratic Front has been divided on the issue with the NCP saying yes to a CBI probe and the Congress opposing it. Sources say Pawar may not be opposed to the idea of bringing Deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal down a peg or two, if it happens in the normal course, without him coming into the picture. Bhujbal, whose name has surfaced in connection with the scam, has also announced that he has no objection to handing over the probe to the CBI. He has added that a decision on the matter depends on the CM and the Bombay High Court. The Bombay High Court will hear the progress of the probe on November 27, and much will depend on the view it takes on handing over the investigation from the SIT to the CBI. A Special Investigating Team (SIT), headed by former DGP S.S. Puri, is looking into the scam in Maharasthra under the supervision of the high court. Story continues below this ad The CBI has already initiated investigation into the scandal in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat on the request of the two state governments. It is also looking into the role of the India Security Press (ISP) in Nashik. Abdul Karim Telgi, now in jail, is believed to have purchased printing machines from the ISP and it is suspected that the officials in the ISP helped him procure original printing plates of the stamp papers.