Centre gives Tehelka panel a burial, says CBI will now dig

In an extraordinary move on the Tehelka issue, the Government has replaced a judicial inquiry with a CBI investigation.The term of the Justi...

In an extraordinary move on the Tehelka issue, the Government has replaced a judicial inquiry with a CBI investigation.

The term of the Justice S N Phukan Commission was allowed to lapse yesterday and the Government today asked the CBI to probe ‘‘various personalities’’ who figure in the expose of corruption in defence deals.

The CBI will register a preliminary enquiry and study the Tehelka tapes to see if Opposition leaders such as George Fernandes and Jaya Jaitly could be booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Law Minister H R Bhardwaj hinted at such a possibility while declaring the Government’s decision to do away with the Phukan Commission. ‘‘How could a private person function from the ministerial bungalow of the then Defence minister? Why did the NDA government not probe the minister?’’ Bhardwaj asked.

Significantly, Bhardwaj denied the claim made by Fernandes before the regime change that he had been given a clean chit by an interim report of the Phukan Commission on the various deals that his ministry had entered into. ‘‘There is no clean chit to the then defence minister,’’ said the Law Minister, leaving open the possibility of the CBI probing defence deals signed during NDA’s reign.

On his part, Phukan said he was yet to receive any communication from the Government on winding up the Commission. But the former Supreme Court judge added that it was ‘‘the prerogative of the Government’’ to extend or not extend the term of any inquiry commission.

Bhardwaj alleged that the NDA Government had ‘‘misdirected’’ the inquiry as it wanted to ‘‘shield’’ Fernandes. ‘‘The only thing the Commission has done so far is to send the tapes for forensic test abroad and the report in this regard had said that the tapes were genuine,’’ he said.

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Hence, there was no need, Bhardwaj said, for the Commission to probe ‘‘the motives of the journalists’’ who had done a great service by exposing widespread corruption in defence deals.

Denying the suggestion that the premature end to the judicial inquiry was an expression of no-confidence in the Commission, Bhardwaj said the NDA Government had taken recourse to the panel only to buy time and avoid taking action against some powerful people.