Cash-for-vote: Police told to put all CDs on record

“You (prosecutor) should give them (defence counsel) everything collected during the probe. You please be sure what you have provided them,what is awaited and what may be provided later on,” the court directed the police.

“There is a possibility that if you would place something after an order is passed,it might change many things,” the judge said.

The court’s direction came after counsel for former MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahabir Singh Bhagora as well as BJP leader L K Advani’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni alleged the prosecution had not brought to the court’s record all the evidence,including some of the crucial video tapes,which were part of the sting operation conducted by a news channel.

One of the defence counsel also played a video in the courtroom on his laptop and said it was a relevant piece of evidence in their favour and the prosecution,despite having it in their possession,was not placing it on record.

During the arguments on bail pleas of Kulkarni,Bhagora and Kulaste,the defence counsel said the prosecution was indulging in “selective investigation” and delaying the proceedings.

“They are playing hide and sick so that no bail would be granted to us,” advocate Anil Soni,appearing for the two former BJP MPs,said.

Soni said the police had not been able to trace the “source of money and real beneficiaries have been suppressed by them.” Countering the claims by the defence counsel that police had deliberately not placed all CDs of the sting operation before the court,the prosecutor said they had served a notice to the private news channel and have received the remaining video CDs.

“We are dependent on whatever we get during the probe. We are getting it (evidence and CDs) in parts. Whatever we have,we have supplied to the defence. We will file the remaining CDs tomorrow,” the prosecutor said.

Kulkarni’s counsel Mahipal said they want to complete the proceedings on the bail plea as soon as possible as his client has been languishing in jail.

Rebutting allegations against Kulkarni by the police,his counsel said his client’s “dominant” aim was to expose the horse-trading going on at the time of voting on the trust motion on July 22,2008.

“Every conspiracy has a dominant object and until the object is illegal,no one can say it was a conspiracy. Here the dominant object was to expose the horse trading,” he said.