'DNA' special: How to weaken the CBI

The bid to investigate and prosecute corrupt powerful bureaucrats just got a little tougher with the Union law ministry passing a controversial opinion that threatens to weaken the CBI even further. The opinion, sent across to the Union coal ministry last week, not only creates an unwelcome precedent, but also steps into the realm of the judiciary and the courts.

For nearly two years, the CBI has been investigating MP Dixit, the then chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd, a public sector unit under the Union coal ministry.

Dixit, the CBI alleged, had demanded Rs1 crore as bribe from a private company to settle a long-pending land issue. Once the CBI was tipped off about the case in mid-2010, they immediately put the CMD and his accomplices under surveillance. His phones were tapped as CBI investigators began to look for corroborative evidence to back what they were hearing on the phones. The CBI also sent the voice intercepts, along with additional samples, to the central forensic laboratory to establish that this was indeed Dixit’s voice. As soon as the CBI had a tight case against Dixit, they filed a charge sheet on December 31 last year and went to the Union ministry of coal seeking their permission to prosecute Dixit.

In a strange move, the coal ministry immediately forwarded a request to the law ministry seeking their opinion. Usually, as per existing guidelines, it is the administrative ministry which has to sanction prosecution after consultation with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

The opinion received from the Union law ministry last week now says that since Dixit was not caught “red handed”, he cannot be prosecuted. The law ministry felt that the evidence listed by the CBI, including voice intercepts, recovery of Rs80 lakh of the bribe money, and other documentary evidence, was “weak”.

Such an opinion, CBI officials feel, could jeopardise practically every case that they are investigating. “Whether the evidence is weak or strong is a matter for the courts to adjudicate on. Only a proper trial can establish that. How can bureaucrats in a ministry get into deciding the quality of evidence?” a senior CBI official told DNA.

Officials also point out that in the 2G spectrum allocation case, where the then Union telecom minister A Raja was arrested, there was no direct involvement either. “Raja was never caught red handed. Does that mean that the case has no merit?”

In most cases of corruption at high levels, it is always middlemen who play the critical role. In this case the CBI, through telephone intercepts, established the role of an alleged middleman, Vijendra Singh, who acted as the go-between for Dixit and the private company. But this, according to the union law ministry, is not adequate because they wanted a case where Dixit was found accepting the cash personally.

In fact, the CBI in its charge sheet, a copy of which is available with DNA, clearly states that some of this “bribe money” was also  encashed by Mala Dixit, the wife of the then CMD. Cheques were encashed in her favour and at least on two occasions, flight tickets were booked for her by a party that facilitated the bribe.

MK Sharma, the joint secretary in the union law ministry who sent across this controversial opinion refused to respond to a detailed questionnaire. The union coal secretary, Alok Perti, also declined to respond to a detailed questionnaire. However, a senior coal ministry official confirmed receiving the opinion. “Yes, we sought the opinion of the law ministry, and it stated that the the evidence against Dixit is not strong enough since he was not caught red-handed. We have sent the case to the coal minister, Sriprakash Jaiswal, so that he can take a call on this issue.” At a time when the debate for an effective Lokpal rages on, the government is still bent on ignoring the Supreme Court and its guidelines to effectively combat corruption in the highest echelons of the bureaucracy.