The D-Day for the four!

Yesterday the Calcutta High Court commenced the hearing on CBI’s petition on Narada sting. Four political leaders, Subrata Mukhopadhyay, Firhad Hakim, Madan Mitra and Sovan Chatterjee. The hearing will continue today.

Their crime: they were a part of the leaders who had accepted gratification in a sting operation by Mathew Samuel, the former Chief of Tehelka, an investigative journal. Mathew had conducted a similar sting on Bangaru Laxman, the then chief of the BJP. Laxman was sentenced to four years in jail term.

Over the criticism of an inordinate delay in filing the charge sheets, the CBI claims that it had sent five reminders in the last 18 months to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha seeking his approval for the prosecution of MPs. Saugata Roy, Kakoli, Prasun Banerjee and Suvendu and have received no response so far. Congress has claimed that the BJP is trying to poach the MPs and delay the permission to prosecute.

MLAs, too, require the Assembly speaker’s sanction for prosecution. The Governor’s approval timing is interesting. It was during the intervening period of the MLAs winning the elections and not sworn in yet. The Assembly was not convened, and the Speaker was not elected, and everything during this short interval was in limbo.

The charge sheet has been filed, and there may be no reason to hold the persons in confinement, all the accused famous and public servants. With the CBI process approved by the Supreme Court, the Calcutta HC may not interfere in the case. The case transfer outside Bengal seems a gift on the platter by an emotional and impulsive party leader.

If Bangaru’s case is a precedent, the outcome is clear. For the nation’s sake, I must add that the Speaker’s domain must restrict to any criminal acts on the Assembly or the parliament floor and not one step outside it.

The CBI’s face will be credible only when it acts equally with all the accused and not selectively. If the speakers decline to allow prosecution, the courts must step in. Narada and Sarada must end before any other elections.

Abhishek Singhvi, the defence counsel, famously quoted that the CBI is claiming half-truths, unwittingly admitting that the other half could be truth in their charges. ‘Aswathama Hata,’ by the counsel, is a referral to Mahabharata when the Pandavas were unable to kill Ashwathama, the immortal son of Dronacharya. They craftily kill an elephant named Ashwathama and inform Dronacharya that ‘Aswathama Hata,’ Ashwatama is killed. Drishtadyumna beheads a grieving Dronacharya.

I wish the counsel clarifies who Drona could be in the present case!

Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix