Slamming the Centre for not cooperating with the CBI in its probe in the coal block scam, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked it to file a ?comprehensive? response to justify all 164 allocations.
The court also asked the government to file a reply on whether it is necessary to continue with the requirement of sanction for investigation in the backdrop of the CVC taking over the supervision of the CBI. Also, if any sanction to prosecute officials and public servants is required in a court-monitored investigation.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice RM Lodha sought response from the government after perusing a CBI status report on the ongoing probe into coal blocks allocation.
It said the CBI was struggling with probe in the absence of documents on the decisions taken by the screening committee on the allocation.
?There was a lot of deficiency/infirmity in decisions taken by the screening committee in the coal block allocation scam…we are concerned urgently with non-partisan investigation by CBI,? it said, asking Attorney General GE Vahanvati to file in four weeks a comprehensive counter with all supporting documents, including records of all 36 steering committee meetings, explaining the procedure and methodology that was adopted for the allocation of 164 coal blocks.
Justice Lodha lashed out at the government, saying the manner in which the agency is struggling with the probe shows that the government has not been very forthcoming and helpful.
He also reprimanded the government for not incorporating recommendations of the state governments on coal blocks allocation and that only subjective opinion of the screening committee was taken into consideration. The CBI in its report, extracts of which were read in the court, said there was no material about the decision-making process, the minutes were either not maintained or were sketchy and the procedure adopted by the coal ministry and the screening committee for allocation of the coal blocks was arbitrary.
The issue is sensitive for the government as for some of the years under scrutiny, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held direct charge of the coal ministry. That has led to the Opposition demanding his resignation. It also asked the CBI?s to file its response by July 16 to the steps proposed by the government to bring functional autonomy of the investigative agency.
The apex court also said that the law will have to be amended to give more autonomy to the agency and that Parliament will ultimately have to debate and approve suggestions made by the Centre to free the agency from political control.
The court was looking into an affidavit it had asked the Centre to file on functional autonomy for the investigating agency. The government’s proposal in its 44-page affidavit that the director of the CBI will be selected by a three-member panel comprising the Prime Minister, leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India, has found favour with the court.
Meanwhile, Additional Solicitor-General Siddharth Luthra withdrew as CBI counsel in the case.