2024-09-28 11:00:27
New Delhi : ED and the state government have made serious allegations regarding the Civil Supplies Corporation scam of Chhattisgarh i.e. NAN or PDS scam. The allegation is that two former bureaucrats accused in the case, along with the then Advocate General of the state, tried to influence the High Court judge for anticipatory bail. He also got anticipatory bail. In this case, all the evidence including WhatsApp chats were submitted in sealed envelopes in the Supreme Court in separate affidavits by both the ED and the state government. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju told the Supreme Court that such termites should not be allowed to weaken the judicial system. The top court has also said that the allegations are serious and they will look at the evidence in this case. The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will investigate the serious allegations made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Chhattisgarh government that Civil Supplies Corporation (NAN) scam Accused former bureaucrat Anil K. Tuteja and Alok Shukla had influenced a High Court judge to get anticipatory bail.
Supreme Court asked for proof of two things from ASG
The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice A S Oka and Justice A G Masih told Additional Solicitor General S. V. Asked Raju for evidence on two things continuously. First, have former bureaucrats misused the bail granted to them to tamper with evidence? And second, has he influenced the High Court judge to get pre-arrest bail in the scam?
On this, ASG Raju said that ED had filed the evidence in a sealed cover, but the bench was not able to find it. He offered to file the evidence afresh.
There was nexus between judge, advocate general and accused bureaucrats: state government
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the Chhattisgarh government, said that the state has attached the details of the WhatsApp chats in its affidavits. These chats show that there was a nexus between former bureaucrats, the then Advocate General of the state and the judge.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the accused, said that the Chhattisgarh government has no role in the case. This matter is between the accused and ED. He expressed surprise as to why the Chhattisgarh government filed an affidavit in the case.
To this, Jethmalani said that the then Advocate General of the state had participated in perpetrating the fraud and had helped in obtaining bail by undermining the established judicial process.
Rohatgi said these affidavits are useless in the proceedings pending before the court as the ED is seeking to transfer the trial of the case out of the state.
We will investigate, the blame is on the judicial system: Supreme Court
While hearing the case next on November 8, the bench said it should examine the evidence presented by the ED and the state government on the alleged nexus between the accused, the former Advocate General and the judge.
The bench said, ‘We will investigate it because the blame is on the judicial system.’
On this, ASG Raju said, ‘Such termites should not be allowed to weaken the judicial system.’
What is ED’s claim?
According to a report published last month by our colleague Times of India, the ED has claimed in the Supreme Court that two senior bureaucrats Anil Kumar Tuteja and Alok Shukla, accused in the Chhattisgarh Naan scam, were in constant touch with a High Court judge. The middle link in this was the then Advocate General Satish Chandra Verma.
The judge granted bail to both the accused Tuteja and Shukla in October 2019.
The ED has also claimed that WhatsApp chats have revealed that the biodata of the judge’s daughter and son-in-law were sent to Tuteja so that ‘favourable action’ could be taken against him.
The High Court judge who is at the center of this entire incident is currently in Patna High Court.
what is naan scam
This scam worth several crores of rupees came to light in 2015. There were allegations then that substandard rice was distributed under PDS and bribes were paid for it.