Phone tapping: SC grills Amar Singh

The Supreme Court on Wednesday grilled former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh as he sought to drop charges against Congress president Sonia Gandhi in connection with the tapping of his phone in 2006.

Singh was represented by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is also a Congress spokesperson.

“In view of your revised affidavit, how do you affirm the allegations against the political party through its president?” a Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly asked, adding, “Your averment, which is based on personal knowledge, cannot change”.

“When you say it’s personal knowledge, it means it is something you know personally and which cannot change with the passage of time,” the court observed when Singhvi admitted Singh had made the allegations in 2006 from his personal knowledge that political rivals, including the Congress, was instrumental in tapping his phone.

“If that is your personal knowledge, it cannot be contradicted by yourself,” the court said, noting, “Your personal knowledge is dubious and the court is a victim of your affidavit.”

While pulling up Singh for changing his stand, the Bench said, “The court started hearing your case. Many years have passed and many hours were devoted in your case on the basis of your averments. We tend to rely on them.”

Singhvi was repeatedly asked to read out the portion of Singh’s petition in which he had made allegations against the Congress party and its president.

During the hearing, the court said, “In the petition, you have said the party in power misused the authority but now everything is found to be bogus.” The court also asked why the petition should be entertained. “Why should the court entertain the petition about a person who has not come with clean hands?” the bench asked.