New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) The Supreme Court Thursday asked CBI officers including Joint Director Ashok Tiwari, who had come to the court in the hearing of NGO CPIL’s plea on the alleged interference by CBI Director Ranjit Sinha in some of the 2G spectrum cases, to leave the court and attend to their work in their offices.
A bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice A.K. Sikri asked the Central Bureau of Investigation officers to leave the court as it observed: “Why are so many officers of the CBI present in the court?”
“How so many officers in the court? Tell your officers to go and work in their office instead of sitting in the court,” said Chief Justice Dattu.
The court took note of the CBI officers after it was told by counsel K.K. Venugopal that he was asked not to argue for the CBI in this matter.
The issue assumed significance as Venugopal has been the CBI counsel in 2G cases ever since the court commenced hearing in the matter.
The court was told that advocate Gopal Shankaranarayanan was informed by Ashok Tiwari that Venugopal will not represent the CBI in the instant case. Shankaranarayanan assists Venugopal in the 2G cases.
Venugopal told the court that the CBI joint director who had conveyed the instructions was present in the visitors’ gallery.
In an attempt to clarify the position, Tiwari told the court that Venugopal represents the CBI in the 2G issue and will continue to represent the agency in that capacity but not in this matter.
He said that in the matter before the court, counsel Vikas Singh was representing CBI Director Ranjit Sinha.
The bench then asked Tiwari why was he present in the court and whether he was a mouthpiece of Sinha.
“Mr. Tiwari, you are not the mouthpiece of the CBI director. How is your presence required here?” asked Chief Justice Dattu.
Counsel Vikas Singh sought to justify the presence of the CBI officers, saying they were present to assist in giving clarifications on files, if any.
Chief Justice Dattu replied: “We have not called them. If we need any clarification, we will call them.”
Having pulled up Tiwari, the court asked all the CBI officers to leave.
The court Thursday also passed an order clearing the name of DIG Santosh Rastogi as an alleged source of information for counsel Prashant Bhushan on the alleged dragging of feet by Sinha in some 2G cases.
The court in its order said: “Venugpoal appearing for the CBI produced a copy of the news report that CBI officer Rastogi has passed on the information to Prashant Bhushan. Bhushan has filed an affidavit denying that Rastogi was the source of the information.”
“The affidavit is taken on record and we make it clear that it was not Rastogi who passed on the information to Bhushan,” the court said in its order at the end of the hearing.
Earlier Thursday morning, when the issue of Vikas Singh having named Rastogi as the source of Bhushan’s information in the course of his arguments Wednesday, Vikas Singh said he had just said it appears from the affidavit of NGO CPIL that Rastogi was the source of information for the NGO to level allegations against the CBI director.
Vikas Singh said he had referred to Rastogi on his assessment of the affidavit and had just said it appears Rastogi was a source of the information.
He sought to clarify by saying: “I never said he (Rastogi) is the person.”
At this, the court said Vikas Singh could have said the “information supplied to Prashant Bhushan appears to be by an insider”.
“But to name a person is nothing but to tarnish his image. In the name of arguments, you can’t tarnish the image of a person,” Chief Justice Dattu said.