CBI files perjury case against NGO in Maxis case

Bhushan seeks Ranjit Sinha's removal

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday sought the Supreme Court’s permission to file a perjury case against the Centre for Public Interest Litigation , a non-profit organisation, in the Aircel-Maxis case.  However, the investigating agency is yet to decide on what action to be taken against activist Prashant Bhushan, who had alleged CBI director Ranjit Sinha favoured Reliance Telecom, CBI officials said.

When reporters quizzed Sinha on Friday about the controversial visitors’ diary showing industrialists, company executives and politicians linked to cases under CBI investigation visiting him at his residence, he said: “I’m already under fire from all sides.”

“The perjury case is with regard to the Aircel-Maxis case, where an NGO’s advocate levelled false allegations on oath in the Supreme Court. We will decide action against Prashant Bhushan once he files his affidavit in the court. Both matters are separate,” said a CBI spokesperson. However, an unfazed Bhushan upped the ante against Sinha and urged Modi to remove him from his post.

“I request you to kindly initiate the process of his removal from the post of the director, CBI under Section 4 B (2) of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act and also initiate appropriate disciplinary and criminal proceedings against him,” he wrote in a detailed letter to Modi. Bhushan cited specific instances of impropriety against the CBI director.

In the apex court, the investigating agency sought a case against CPIL, which had asked CBI director to recuse himself from the Aircel-Maxis case.

“The application is clearly mischievous and is based on untrue facts in which mis-statements have been deliberately made so as to obtain favourable orders from this court,” said the CBI, while accusing CPIL of making wrong allegations that attempt has been made at the behest of the director to save accused in the Aircel-Maxis deal.

Last week, the CBI filed a chargesheet against eight people including former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanithi Maran before a Special CBI court in the Aircel-Maxis case. Maxis is accused of bribing the Marans for grant of telecom licences. The NGO had accused Sinha of interfering in the case and keeping deputy inspector-general Santosh Rastogi away from the entire case.

“The charge about the director overruling his own investigating officers is clearly false. Hence a case of perjury needs to be registered,” CBI said.

It said Rastogi is the first-layer supervisory officer in one case in 2009 (involving A Raja) and second-layer supervisory officer in two cases registered in 2011 and he was transferred on July 16, 2014 from the Anti-Corruption Branch - Delhi, to Special Crime Branch in CBI Delhi, and “it is noteworthy that he had never been relieved from ACB, Delhi till date”.

The CBI said another “intentional and deliberate” false statement made in the CPIL affidavit was that the director was “admonished” by the Supreme Court in the coal scam for showing status report to the political parties “whereas no such admonishment had ever taken place in the said proceedings and the same is a matter of record”.