Ishrat Jehan case: File notings reveal Chidambaram changed affidavit, Pillai looked other way

The second affidavit filed by the union home ministry in Ishrat Jehan case was solely amended by the then home minister P Chidambaram and union home secretary GK Pillai was privy to it but refrained from giving a dissent note, reveal file notings of the case file that is being re-examined at political level by the BJP government.

The file notings reveal that Pillai sent the first affidavit to his boss on September 23, 2009 which was duly amended by Chidambaram and sent back to the home secretary on September 24 with noting – "as amended... Please show the clear copy before it is being sent to the court."

On the same day, Pillai cleared the file for action. His noting said... "clear copy shown to the home minister and please take further action to have it filed."

Pillai also wrote... "send it to the law secretary and attorney general for information."

According to highly placed sources, the political arm of the government views it as a fit case to discredit the Congress-led UPA government and more so Chidambaram, for 'playing politics with terror' to tarnish the image of the then chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi.

"The first affidavit was based on credible intelligence inputs from Maharashtra police, Gujarat police, Intelligence Bureau and RAW that unequivocally opined that Ishrat Jehan and her three accomplices were part of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) module formed to launch an attack on Modi. It is clear now that Chidambaram played politics to file the second affidavit by removing intelligence inputs. If the case was related to fake encounter, why did he do this mischief?"said sources.

Experienced mandarins of the home ministry view the case assuming political overtones to pin down each other.

"Judicially speaking, changing affidavit does not matter much and Chidambaram cannot be hauled up by courts as it was within his right to change it. He himself has owned it up. But as he played fine politics then, the current government can also use to score brawny points over Congress by raising this controversy now," said a source.

The official, however, conceded that if the controversy starts, Pillai will also have some explaining to do as he was well in his right to put a dissent note on the file as it cleared his desk before landing on the then under secretary RVS Mani's table, who finally put his signature on the affidavit.

Sources in the political dispensation said that though both the PM and home minister Rajnath Singh are not keen to rake up the issue as of now, the BJP may use it to turn heat on Congress if it does not hold its horses and keeps attacking BJP government on every issue.