CBI case of Bhandari
May 19,2007 00:00
by
ST Correspondent
Ten year long dragged CBI case of Bhandari
Has the case waken up the Bhandari era?
At a time when the subject of judicial activism and independence of judiciary are becoming the hot issues in Bengal, here in Sikkim, the special judge, prevention of corruption act, 1988, Mr. Tashi Wangdi, has acquitted to Mr. Nar Bahadur Bhandari, the former chief minister of Sikkim and the President of Sikkim Pradesh congress, from one of his most controversial cases on 21 March. Out of his six cases, only two has remained while four including it has gone in favour of him.
Nar Bahadur Bhandari, in the case, was accused of amassing the wealth disproportionately by Central Bureau of India (CBI. Under RC-1(A)/97-ACU (V) dated 24.01.97, 13(2), r/w 13(1) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and 193 Indian Penal Code in CBI, the case was registered and CBI charge sheeted the case in 2001 on the basis that Bhandari was in possession of huge assets, which were disproportionate to his known sources of income during his Chief ministership of Sikkim from 1985-1994. Ganesh Verma, Deputy Superintendent of Police, CBI, Anti corruption Unit (VF) was designated as investigating officer then. During investigation the CBI revealed that total assets of Bhandari by the end of check period amounts to Rs 1,09,56,491. He was also found to have in possession assets to the tune of Rs 53,60,783 which were disproportionate to his known sources of income. Lastly on 21 March, 2007 the judgment went in support of Bhandari. It was the landmark victory of Bhandari as it was the most complicated case faced by Bhandari so far. After the verdict, Bhandari came out of the court with flying colors and thanked the judiciary for its impartial judgment as well as the people who supported him.
But no sooner did the ten years long dragged controversial case curtain down, than again the word is going around that CBI is going to appeal in higher court against the verdict. The statement, however, wasn’t from the horse’s mouth, it was from the mouth of B B Gurung, the political advisor of Chief Minister. So, hardly did the Bhandari’s case get colder, B B Gurung’s statement has started heating up the political circle of Sikkim. The stakeholders are of this opinion that B B Gurung was also a chief Minister of Sikkim once upon a time and has a long experience in politics, though, he without taking the dignity of judiciary and his own government’s stand into account shouldn’t have expressed such views offhand as he was not the authority to speak so. He has underestimated the CBI also, as CBI is India’s premier investigating agency, responsible for a wide variety of criminal and national security matters and it is directly controlled by the department of Personnel of the Union government headed by a Minister of state who works under the guidance of Prime Minister. So, B B gurung’s comments have become the talk of the town.
The controversial cases of CBI, which was established on 1 April 1963, and evolved from the Special Police Establishment (SPE) founded in 1941. The functions of the SPE then were to investigate cases of bribery and corruption in transaction with the war and supply department of India during World War II. The jurisdiction of the SPE extended to all the Union Territories and could be extended also to the states with the consent of the state government concerned. Later on, DP Kholi, the founder Director of CBI and the then Inspector General of Police of SPE, who was a visionary, saw in the Special Police Establishment the potential of growing into the national investigation agency. He nurtured the organization during his long stint as Inspector general and as Director and laid the solid foundation on which CBI grew over the decades to become what it is today.
As for the jurisdiction powers and privileges of CBI, the legal powers of investigation of CBI are derived from this above mentioned SPE Act of 1946. This Act confers concurrent and extensive powers, duties, privilege and liabilities on the members of SPE with Police Officers of the Union Territories. The central government may extend to any area, besides Union Territories, the powers and jurisdiction of members of the CBI for investigation subject to the consent of the Government of the concerned state government. While exercising such powers, members of the CBI of above the rank of sub Inspector shall be deemed to be officers in charge of Police stations of respective jurisdictions.
CBI may investigate such cases which are essentially against Central government employees or concerning affairs of the Central government, cases in which the financial interest of the central government are involved and the cases relating to the breaches of central Laws with the enforcements of which the government of India is mainly concerned.
So, normally, cases assigned to the CBI are sensitive and of national importance. Bofors issue, ISRO spy ring case, Hawala scandal, Priyadarshini Matoo murder case, etc had taken the height of controversy in the country is well known to anybody. Bofors case was associated with the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who were linked to alleged pay offs made in the mid-1980 by the Swedish arms firm AB Bofors with $40 million in kickbacks moved from Britain and Panama to secret Swiss banks. In January 2006, it was found that CBI had quietly unfrozen the bank accounts of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrochi, one of the prime accused in the Bofors scandal of 1986 which had tainted the Rajiv Gandhi government.
In 1994 two scientists with Indian space Research organization (ISRO) and two businessmen were arrested for allegedly conspiring to sell space secret to two Maldivian women for money and sex, but CBI couldn’t get success in the investigation.
Hawala scandal brought the controversy at the time when in 1991 an arrest linked to militants in Kashmir led to a raid on hawala brokers, revealing evidence of large scale payments to national politicians.
Another most controversial case was Priyadarshini Matoo murder case. A 22 year old student Priyadarshini was killed by the son of a high ranking IPS officer. CBI had handled the case. But the accused got acquit for which CBI was greatly criticized and in 2006, CBI again filed the case against Santosh Kumar Singh as a result he was awarded death sentence. So, from the said excerpts one can make out that CBI, too, can’t be deemed wholly fit on their duty.
To this it must be added the Bhandari’s case has boosted up the morale of Sikkim Pradesh congress activist. How far they can capitalize is the matter of time and hinge upon their party programme in the days to come. As Bhandari has spoken out that till the time he was engaged in the mumbo jumbo of the court’s cases, now he has got away with it and wanted to go to the public carrying the party programme to make them aware of the anti people policy of Chamling government.
Whosoever the ruler is but there are the public who always hope of clean image government not the leaders who always indulge in the mutual recrimination. Sikkimese people are looking forward to such leaders only.
Has the case waken up the Bhandari era?
At a time when the subject of judicial activism and independence of judiciary are becoming the hot issues in Bengal, here in Sikkim, the special judge, prevention of corruption act, 1988, Mr. Tashi Wangdi, has acquitted to Mr. Nar Bahadur Bhandari, the former chief minister of Sikkim and the President of Sikkim Pradesh congress, from one of his most controversial cases on 21 March. Out of his six cases, only two has remained while four including it has gone in favour of him.
Nar Bahadur Bhandari, in the case, was accused of amassing the wealth disproportionately by Central Bureau of India (CBI. Under RC-1(A)/97-ACU (V) dated 24.01.97, 13(2), r/w 13(1) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and 193 Indian Penal Code in CBI, the case was registered and CBI charge sheeted the case in 2001 on the basis that Bhandari was in possession of huge assets, which were disproportionate to his known sources of income during his Chief ministership of Sikkim from 1985-1994. Ganesh Verma, Deputy Superintendent of Police, CBI, Anti corruption Unit (VF) was designated as investigating officer then. During investigation the CBI revealed that total assets of Bhandari by the end of check period amounts to Rs 1,09,56,491. He was also found to have in possession assets to the tune of Rs 53,60,783 which were disproportionate to his known sources of income. Lastly on 21 March, 2007 the judgment went in support of Bhandari. It was the landmark victory of Bhandari as it was the most complicated case faced by Bhandari so far. After the verdict, Bhandari came out of the court with flying colors and thanked the judiciary for its impartial judgment as well as the people who supported him.
But no sooner did the ten years long dragged controversial case curtain down, than again the word is going around that CBI is going to appeal in higher court against the verdict. The statement, however, wasn’t from the horse’s mouth, it was from the mouth of B B Gurung, the political advisor of Chief Minister. So, hardly did the Bhandari’s case get colder, B B Gurung’s statement has started heating up the political circle of Sikkim. The stakeholders are of this opinion that B B Gurung was also a chief Minister of Sikkim once upon a time and has a long experience in politics, though, he without taking the dignity of judiciary and his own government’s stand into account shouldn’t have expressed such views offhand as he was not the authority to speak so. He has underestimated the CBI also, as CBI is India’s premier investigating agency, responsible for a wide variety of criminal and national security matters and it is directly controlled by the department of Personnel of the Union government headed by a Minister of state who works under the guidance of Prime Minister. So, B B gurung’s comments have become the talk of the town.
The controversial cases of CBI, which was established on 1 April 1963, and evolved from the Special Police Establishment (SPE) founded in 1941. The functions of the SPE then were to investigate cases of bribery and corruption in transaction with the war and supply department of India during World War II. The jurisdiction of the SPE extended to all the Union Territories and could be extended also to the states with the consent of the state government concerned. Later on, DP Kholi, the founder Director of CBI and the then Inspector General of Police of SPE, who was a visionary, saw in the Special Police Establishment the potential of growing into the national investigation agency. He nurtured the organization during his long stint as Inspector general and as Director and laid the solid foundation on which CBI grew over the decades to become what it is today.
As for the jurisdiction powers and privileges of CBI, the legal powers of investigation of CBI are derived from this above mentioned SPE Act of 1946. This Act confers concurrent and extensive powers, duties, privilege and liabilities on the members of SPE with Police Officers of the Union Territories. The central government may extend to any area, besides Union Territories, the powers and jurisdiction of members of the CBI for investigation subject to the consent of the Government of the concerned state government. While exercising such powers, members of the CBI of above the rank of sub Inspector shall be deemed to be officers in charge of Police stations of respective jurisdictions.
CBI may investigate such cases which are essentially against Central government employees or concerning affairs of the Central government, cases in which the financial interest of the central government are involved and the cases relating to the breaches of central Laws with the enforcements of which the government of India is mainly concerned.
So, normally, cases assigned to the CBI are sensitive and of national importance. Bofors issue, ISRO spy ring case, Hawala scandal, Priyadarshini Matoo murder case, etc had taken the height of controversy in the country is well known to anybody. Bofors case was associated with the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who were linked to alleged pay offs made in the mid-1980 by the Swedish arms firm AB Bofors with $40 million in kickbacks moved from Britain and Panama to secret Swiss banks. In January 2006, it was found that CBI had quietly unfrozen the bank accounts of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrochi, one of the prime accused in the Bofors scandal of 1986 which had tainted the Rajiv Gandhi government.
In 1994 two scientists with Indian space Research organization (ISRO) and two businessmen were arrested for allegedly conspiring to sell space secret to two Maldivian women for money and sex, but CBI couldn’t get success in the investigation.
Hawala scandal brought the controversy at the time when in 1991 an arrest linked to militants in Kashmir led to a raid on hawala brokers, revealing evidence of large scale payments to national politicians.
Another most controversial case was Priyadarshini Matoo murder case. A 22 year old student Priyadarshini was killed by the son of a high ranking IPS officer. CBI had handled the case. But the accused got acquit for which CBI was greatly criticized and in 2006, CBI again filed the case against Santosh Kumar Singh as a result he was awarded death sentence. So, from the said excerpts one can make out that CBI, too, can’t be deemed wholly fit on their duty.
To this it must be added the Bhandari’s case has boosted up the morale of Sikkim Pradesh congress activist. How far they can capitalize is the matter of time and hinge upon their party programme in the days to come. As Bhandari has spoken out that till the time he was engaged in the mumbo jumbo of the court’s cases, now he has got away with it and wanted to go to the public carrying the party programme to make them aware of the anti people policy of Chamling government.
Whosoever the ruler is but there are the public who always hope of clean image government not the leaders who always indulge in the mutual recrimination. Sikkimese people are looking forward to such leaders only.
D. B. Rai
Gangtok, Sikkim