Sc To Look Into Charges Of Interference In Indian Bank Probe

The Supreme Court yesterday stated that it would look into the allegation that powerful persons were interfering with the inquiry into the Indian Bank scam.

Counsel Anil Divan, arguing the petition filed by Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swamy, submitted that a serious situation has arisen in the case.

He said the ministry of personnel was being headed by a person directly connected with the allegations. It was also alleged that powerful political leaders in the coalition government at the Centre were protecting the former chairman of the bank, Gopalakrishnan.

As an example, it was pointed out that some members of the team handling the enquiry were being transferred by the ministry. Others were in the process of being transferred. The situation was similar to the one in the Jain hawala case. Therefore, the court was asked to pass an order similar to the one passed in that case, barring interference by the executive. Counsel also asked the court to keep the original team investigating the case intact for the speedy conclusion of the probe.

The division bench consisting of Justice J S Verma and Justice Sujata Manohar indicated that a general order, as was passed for monitoring the Jain hawala and Chandraswamy cases, may be necessary in this case also.

The case was adjourned till April 7 to enable Attorney General Ashok Desai to examine the allegations. Desai, however, informed the court that ten different inquiries were proceeding in the bank scam.