The Special Investigation Team (SIT) monitoring the MPPEB scam has itself landed in trouble with the high court asking it to explain the circumstances in which it accepted a request to visit Delhi to examine the evidence submitted by AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh.
The court order has come in response to an objection raised by Advocate General Ravish Agrawal who argued that the SIT was overstepping its authority and submitted that “what is more intriguing is that the SIT was ready to oblige the request made in the representations, including undertaking a visit to Delhi on the request of Digivijaya Singh.’’
The AG submitted a copy of a letter written by the senior Congress leader to Resident Commissioner, Madhya Pradesh Bhavan, to provide accommodation to the SIT, which is coming to Delhi “to see the presentation at my request.’’
The former MP chief minister had submitted documents and an affidavit along with a true copy of an excel sheet submitted with a chargesheet submitted by the STF and a copy of an original excel sheet retrieved from a computer of Nitin Mohindra (a former MPPEB official).
The AG argued that the submission by Digvijaya Singh was an attempt to influence the SIT and to create confusion. He said the SIT could have at best accepted the representation, processed it and issued necessary directions to the Special Task Force, the probe agency. “The SIT on its own can’t start visiting different places to unearth information brought to its notice from different sources,’’
A division bench comprising chief justice A M Khanvilkar and justice Alok Aradhe reminded the SIT that it was only a watchdog to monitor the investigation being done by the STF.
The division bench told the SIT that it should have kept the court informed about representations received from Digvijaya Singh while noting that it had failed to do so in progress reports filed after receiving the representations.
Indian Express | March 5, 2015
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