Reveal identity of hawala "gentleman", demand Elders

NEW DELHI, July 28: Cutting across party lines, Rajya Sabha members today expressed grave concern at Supreme Court Chief Justice JS Verma's...

NEW DELHI, July 28: Cutting across party lines, Rajya Sabha members today expressed grave concern at Supreme Court Chief Justice JS Verma’s observation that efforts were being made to influence judges hearing the hawala case and demanded that the government take suo motu notice of the statement and initiate immediate action.

They urged the government to get to the bottom of the issue by asking the Attorney General of India to speak to Justice Verma and the judges so that the identity of the persons was revealed. This was possible under the Contempt of Courts Act, they said.

Earlier this month, Justice Verma said that “some gentlemen” had tried to approach the judges hearing the hawala case.Despite the overwhelming sentiment of the House, Information and Broadcasting Minister Jaipal Reddy maintained that the matter was best left to the discretion of the Chief Justice of India. He came under fire for his contradictory statement that no one from the government was involved and that the identity of the persons was not known.Raising the issue, senior BJP MP Satish Agarwal said that the independence of the judiciary was at stake.

Justice Verma had made the observation in an open court and he must have had a strong reason for doing so, lawyer Ram Jethmalani (BJP) added. Criticising Reddy’s stand as “too soft”, CPI member Gurudas Das Gupta said the government must take steps to bring the persons concerned to book. Biplab Dasgupta (CPI-M) pointed out that if the Supreme Court was under such pressure the condition of the lower judiciary was probably worse.