Sc Dissatisfied With Cbi In Hawala Case Cbi

In view of the solemn assurance to show better results with promptitude, nothing more need be said at this stage, the order passed by a division bench consisting of Justice J S Verma, Justice S P Bharucha and Justice S C Sen said.

Most of the hearing in the hawala cases was held in camera as usual, but senior counsel Anil Divan appointed by the court to assist it in the public interest petition made some serious statements against the CBI at the start.

Regarding the extradition proceedings of Amirbhai from Hong Kong, counsel said that the CBI was conscious of the funding of terrorism from the hawala funds, but it did not present that angle in the Hong Kong court.

TheCentral Bureau of Invedstigation pointed out only the violation of foreign exchange regulations.

Divan said while foreign exchange violations differ in the countries involved, terrorism was one point which would have evoked favourable response from the Hong Kong court.

But this argument was not even made, the counsel pointed out.

When Justice Verma asked Attorney General Ashok Desai whether the terrorism angle was argued in the Hong Kong court, counsel replied that it was not.

The discovery of the Jain diaries, the basis of the hawala cases, resulted from the arrest of Ashfak Hussain Lone, a Hizbul Mujahideen chieftain operating in Jammu and Kashmir.

If Amirbhai talks, a lot of things will come out, Divan said.

He also alleged that though charge-sheets have been filed against several persons under the Prevention of Corruption Act, CBI appeared to have ignored the income-tax aspect of the matter.

In the context of the present revelations, the assets of public figures who have been in politics for one or two decades should have been probed.

Divan quoted several newspapers to show that some powerful politicians, public servants and businessmen have not been probed despite their initials found in the Jain diaries.

Replying to the allegations, Attorney-General Ashok Desai said that 54 persons have so far been charge-sheeted in the hawala cases.

He also submitted that income tax assessments have been completed and demands have been made in several cases.

He also told the court that the reports appearing in the press were not entirely correct.

The next hearing will be heard on September 30.