CBI couldn’t find evidence of kick-backs in Scorpene deal

"No case is made out in the deal. Nothing was found about the Scorpene submarine deal kick-back," advocate Mukta Gupta contended before a bench comprising Justices T S Thakur and Siddharth Mridul.

Gupta further pleaded that in view of findings of the investigation, the PIL seeking a full-fledged inquiry into the deal should be dismissed.

"Writ petition for registration of FIR cannot be entertained and one has to file a complaint before the Magistrate," she said.

The petitioner, an NGO cammed Centre for Public Interest Litigation, said that it should be supplied a copy of the investigation report to ascertain that proper inquiry was conducted by the CBI.

The investigating agency, which had earlier submitted a report of its investigation in a sealed envelop, opposed the plea. "There are certain secret information in the report and it would not be proper to reveal it to the petitioner," the agency contended.

The Bench, however, was not satisfied with the contention and said that if it contains sensitive information which could affect the national security then a proper affidavit has to be filed.

Gupta then submitted that the court could go through the report to find out whether it could be supplied to the petitioner or not but pleaded that seal should be opened in the presence of Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium who was currently not in the country.

The court then adjourned the matter and posted it for July 14 when the CBI report would be de-sealed. In the previous hearing the court had rejected French arms company Thales' plea to dismiss a PIL and had said that it could not dismiss the petition without going through the action taken report submitted by the CBI.

On the direction of the court passed on December 20, the investigating agency filed an inquiry report in a sealed envelop.

The court in its order had restrained the agency from closing the case after conducting the inquiry and had said that the CBI would have to satisfy it that there was no evidence of payment of kickbacks in the deal.

The government finalised the Rs 16,00O crore deal with the French company in October 2005. The petition alleged that there were middlemen involved in the deal which was against the government's policy.

It also alleged that four per cent kickback was paid in the deal and the government was trying to protect the middlemen who were influential people.