CBI chief's visitor log: SC says it can quash all Sinha's decisions in 2G case

Even as the Supreme Court told CBI director Ranjit Sinha to file an affidavit on his stand regarding the controversy surrounding visitors to his home, it has said that it could quash all the decisions taken by the head of the investigating agency in the 2G spectrum case if it found any merit in the allegations against him.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice HL Dattu, which was hearing the matter regarding the accused in the 2G spectrum case visiting the CBI director’s home, refused to restrain Sinha from taking any decisions in the case until the controversy around him was resolved.

“The Heavens won’t fall in a week and if we find merit in the averments made against the CBI director, then we would quash all the decisions taken by him (during the pendency of the case),” the bench said.

Legal counsel for Centre for Public Interest Litigation, Prashant Bhushan, has been seeking the removal of Sinha from his post for allegedly protecting some of the accused in the case.

Bhushan also handed over a sealed envelope that allegedly contained a register of the entry list at the CBI director’s residence. The lawyer told the court that some unknown persons had turned up at his residence last night and gave him the documents without revealing their identities and sought that the court take the documents on record in safe custody as they could be destroyed otherwise.

The apex court also told the CBI director, despite his insistence against it saying it could influence the trial in the case , to file an affidavit in the matter.

The CBI director has been questioning the veracity of the entry logs that purportedly record visitors to his official residence and on Monday told the Times of India  that the register was an unofficial one that was full of errors and inconsistencies.

The report also quoted unnamed CBI sources as saying that the agency would tell the Supreme Court that the visitor’s log may have been manipulated and would also ask the government security agency that maintained it to verify its authenticity.

On Monday as well, Sinha had sought that the apex court bench shouldn’t entertain the NGO’s plea until it revealed the source of information in the matter. However, the Supreme Court brushed aside his plea saying that even if there were technical defects in the application, it could be ignored as it wanted to ensure free and fair trial, which had come under cloud of suspicion after the alleged revelations.

Sinha also sought that Bhushan be told to disclose the source from where he got all the documents, but the court said it would seek the details about the source at a later stage.

The CBI has maintained that it doesn’t keep a log of visitors who see Sinha at his residence and only records movements of his movement and that of his security detail. However, reports have indicated that Sinha’s wife may have informally asked for the log to be maintained by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police unit that guards their residence in order to screen guests.

This was also expected to work to the advantage of Sinha since the log wasn’t an official document that was supposed to be maintained.

But despite the controversy, as Firstpost’s R Jagannathan had noted , Sinha may not lose his post just yet given there are no provisions for his removal before the end of his term. something the apex court will consider and may not do to avoid setting a precedent. However, if the court decides to quash Sinha’s appointment and stand by its statement that it could quash every decision taken by the CBI director in the handling of the case, it could have a significant impact on the ongoing trial.

with PTI inputs