Govt seeks review of SC ruling in JMM bribe case

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: The Union Government today filed a petition seeking review of a seven-month old judgement of the Supreme Court in the mul...

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: The Union Government today filed a petition seeking review of a seven-month old judgement of the Supreme Court in the multi-crore JMM MPs bribery case in which a five-judge constitution bench had held that bribe giving MPs were liable for prosecution but not those accepting it.

Additional Solicitor General R N Trivedi informed the three-judge bench comprising Justices M K Mukherjee, G B Pattanaik and S P Kurdukar that the petition was filed this morning on the April 18 judgement which had also held that MPs were public servants.

Justice Mukherjee, heading the bench hearing petitions moved by former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, former home minister Buta Singh, former petroleum minister Satish Sharma and other seeking quashing of charges framed against them in the case, relieved himself from hearing the case as he would be retiring by the end of this month.

The petitions seeking quashing of charges framed against accused persons in the bribery case would now go before a newthree-judge bench to be constituted by the Chief Justice of India.

The question of staying the ongoing trial in the case could not be taken up by the bench in view of Justice Mukherjee relieving himself from hearing the case.

Trivedi, when contacted, refused to divulge the grounds on which the Centre was seeking review of the constitution bench judgement. The constitution bench headed by Justice S P Bharucha had quashed charges against alleged bribe-takers Shibu Soren, Simon Marandi, Suraj Mandal, Anadi Charan Das, former Union minister Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav, Roshan Lal, Abhay Pratap Singh and Haji Ghulam Mohammed saying they enjoyed immunity from prosecution under Article 1052 of the Constitution.

However, it said those MPs giving bribe would come under the Prevention of Corruption Act as MPs were public servants. Those accused of giving bribe in the case were Narasimha Rao, V Rajeswar Rao, Satish Sharma, former Karnataka chief minister M Veerappa Moily, former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal,former home minister Buta Singh, N M Revanna, D K Adikeshavulu and M Thimmegowda.

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CBI had alleged that Rao in conspiracy with his cabinet colleagues and others had bribed MPs from the then Jharkhand Mukti Morcha JMM and other parties to defeat a no-confidence motion against the Congress Government on July 28, 1993.