Snoopgate: Commission of Inquiry likely to be ordered by Centre

New Delhi: A Commission of Inquiry is likely to be ordered by the Centre into the alleged “snooping” on a woman in Gujarat allegedly at the behest of Amit Shah, a close aide of BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The Home Ministry has prepared a note to be placed before the Union Cabinet for its approval for conducting the probe either through a sitting or a retired Supreme Court Judge. [caption id=“attachment_1305175” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Narendra Modi. Reuters[/caption] “We are awaiting for the clearance of the high-ups. Once we get it, we will move the Cabinet for its approval,” a Home Ministry official said. Sources said the Commission of Inquiry will be ordered under the Commissions of Inquiry Act and is expected to be given three months time to complete the probe. Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held during April-May 2014. A Commission of Inquiry will have independence as well as adequate powers to seek official documents and call people for questioning. A probe by such a Commission is considered more credible than a normal police probe, sources said. The illegal surveillance on the woman architect, allegedly by the Gujarat Police was apparently in violation of phone-tapping rules as it was reportedly carried out without the mandatory permission from the Centre when she went out of the state. Sources said a state Home Secretary is empowered to order phone-tapping within the state but when the surveillance is carried out in multiple states, permission of the Union Home Secretary is mandatory. The Gujarat Police appear to have tapped the telephone of the woman when she was also in Maharashtra and Karnataka, besides Gujarat, without taking any authorisation from the Union Home Secretary, the sources said. PTI