JMM case

NEW DELHI, JAN 7: The Delhi High Court today deferred hearing on a petition seeking summoning of Congress president Sitaram Kesri as an accused in the multi-crore JMM MPs bribery case, in which former premier P V Narasimha Rao and 19 others are facing trial.

Justice A K Srivastava sought details of the previous orders dismissing similar applications seeking summoning of Kesri in the case on the basis of the statement of approver Shailendra Mahato and posted the matter for hearing on January 14. The present petition before the high court has been filed by Raja Abhay Pratap Singh, an accused in the JMM case, alleging that Kesri should be summoned as an accused as he had assured the then JMM MPs on July 28, 1993, that assurances made by Rao would be met if they voted for the Congress government during the no-confidence motion.

CBI, after investigating the matter, had chargesheeted Rao, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, former Karnataka Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily, several former Union ministers for their alleged role in the bribery case. The petitioner said it was a fit case for the trial court to exercise its jurisdiction under Section 319 of Criminal Procedure Code and summon Kesri as an accused.