Page 1 REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

I.A. No. 13/2014 and Crl. M.P. No.387/2015

IN

WRIT PETITION (C) NO.463/2012

Common Cause & Ors. ….Petitioners

Versus

Union of India and Ors. …Respondents

O R D E R

Madan B. Lokur, J.

1. The prayer in IA No.13/2014 filed by Common Cause

& others is two-fold:

(1)Direct Mr. Ranjit Sinha, Director CBI, not to interfere

in the coal block allocation case investigations and

prosecutions being carried out by the CBI and to recuse

himself from these cases.

(2)Direct an SIT appointed by the Hon’ble Court to

investigate the abuse of authority committed by the CBI

Director in order to scuttle inquires, investigations and

prosecutions being carried out by the CBI in coal block

allocation cases and other important cases.

2. In so far as the first prayer is concerned, since Mr.

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 2 Ranjit Sinha, the Director, Central Bureau of Investigation

(for short the CBI) has admittedly superannuated on or

about 2

nd

December, 2014 the question of his recusal from

investigations and prosecutions being carried out by the CBI

in respect of cases arising out of what is now commonly

known as the Coal Block Allocations case has become

infructuous. We are, therefore, concerned only with the

second prayer in the application.

3. The prayer in Crl. MP No.387/2015 filed by Mr. Ranjit

Sinha is as follows:

A. Direct the concerned Police Station to register an FIR

against Mr. Prashant Bhushan, the Petitioner Association

(i.e. Common Cause) and Mr. Kamal Kant Jaswal for

making deliberate and intentional false statements on

oath and before this Hon’ble Court in these proceedings,

B. Pass other or further orders as may be deemed fit and

proper.

4. We propose to consider both these applications since

we have heard submissions on them.

5. It is not necessary to go into the detailed background

of the case since all the facts are on record in the judgment

delivered by this Court in Manohar Lal Sharma v.

Principal Secretary and Ors.

1

Nevertheless, some facts

1

(2014) 2 SCC 532

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 3 are necessary for the purposes of a decision on these

applications.

6. During the course of hearing of the writ petition on

24

th

January, 2013 and in response to a query made by this

Court, a statement was made by the learned Additional

Solicitor General that on the next date of hearing, the status

of the investigations (into the allotment of coal blocks) shall

be made known to this Court through an affidavit filed by a

competent authority. The case was then adjourned to 12

th

March, 2013.

7. Pursuant to the statement made by the learned

Additional Solicitor General, a status report was filed by the

CBI on 8

th

March, 2013 in a sealed cover. This status report

was perused on 12

th

March, 2013 and upon a consideration

of the entire matter, this Court required an affidavit to be

filed by the Director, CBI that the status report submitted

was vetted by him and nothing therein has been shared

with the political executive. He was also required to state on

affidavit that the same procedure would be followed in

respect of subsequent status reports that may be filed in

this Court. The status report was then re-sealed and the

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 4 case adjourned to 30

th

April, 2013.

8.Acting on the above order, the Director, CBI filed the

requisite affidavit on 26

th

April, 2013. When the case was

taken up on 30

th

April, 2013 the affidavit filed by the

Director, CBI was perused and this Court was of the view

that the following aspects needed to be clarified by the

Director, CBI:

“(i)As to why in the status report dated 08.03.2013 no

disclosure was made to this Court that the draft report

has been shared with the political executive and

officials.

(ii) What was the basis and reasons for the C.B.I. in

making the statement on 12.03.2013 through its

counsel (Additional Solicitor General) before this Court

that the status report dated 08.03.2013 has not been

shared with any one and it is meant only for the Court.

(iii) In the affidavit now filed by the Director, C.B.I. on

April 26, 2013 it is stated that the draft of the status

report dated March 8, 2013 was shared with the

Minister of Law & Justice as desired by him prior to its

submission before this Court and it was also shared

with Joint Secretary level officers each of the Prime

Minister’s Officer and Ministry of Coal as desired by

them but nothing has been said in the affidavit

whether or not changes were made in the draft report

and, if yes, at whose instance and the extent of

changes and whether besides the three persons

mentioned in para 4 of the affidavit, the draft report

was shared with any other person in that meeting.

(iv) The names of the two officers one each of the Prime

Minister’s Office and Ministry of Coal referred to in

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 5 para 4 of the affidavit.

(v)xxxx xxxxx

(vi)xxxx xxxxx”

9. It was directed that an affidavit giving the above

information may be filed by the Director, CBI by 6

th

May,

2013 and the case was then adjourned to 8

th

May, 2013. As

required, the Director, CBI filed a further affidavit in this

regard on 6

th

May, 2013.

10. When the case was taken up on 8

th

May, 2013 Mr.

Prashant Bhushan learned counsel for Common Cause

made his submissions. Keeping the submissions in mind it

was directed that the Director, CBI shall henceforth ensure

the secrecy of inquiries and investigations into the

allocation of coal blocks and that no access of any nature

whatsoever is provided to any person or authority including

any Minister of the Central Cabinet, Law Officers, Advocates

of the CBI, Director of Prosecution and Officials/Officers of

the Central Government.

11.It is in the background of the above broad facts

relating to the secrecy (and purity) of the investigations that

IA No. 13/2014 appears to have been moved by Common

Cause with some additional facts having come to its notice

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 6 after the aforesaid orders were passed by this Court.

Pleadings and documents

12.Apart from stating a few relevant facts in the

application, what is of immediate concern is the averment

made in paragraph 9 of the application that Common Cause

has come to know that Mr. Ranjit Sinha, Director, CBI had

met several persons at his residence who are accused in

prominent cases including the Coal Block Allocation scam

without any of the investigating officers being present.

(Emphasis is given by us).

It is then stated in Para 10 of the application as

follows:

“It is of particular significance that Mr. Ranjit Sinha

had several meetings with Mr. Vijay Darda, and his

son Mr. Devendra Darda, who are being investigated

in the case of illegal allocation of coal blocks. Mr.

Sinha also met with Mr. Subodh Kant Sahay, former

Union Minister, whose brother’s company is one of the

beneficiaries of the allocation of coal blocks and is

being investigated by the CBI.”

13.In paragraph 11 of the application, it is stated that

there is an ‘entry register’ containing details of visitors,

including the accused persons, who met Mr. Sinha at his

residence from time to time. It is stated that Mr. Sinha did

not meet them at his office or in the presence of the

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 7 investigating officers. Rather, he met them at his residence

without the investigation team being present. A copy of the

‘entry register’ is filed in a sealed cover as an annexure to

the application.

14.In paragraph 12 of the application a reference is

made to Mr. Ranjit Sinha meeting some accused persons in

what is commonly known as the 2G spectrum case being

an appeal filed by the Centre for PIL.

2

15.At this stage it is necessary to digress a bit and

mention that in the 2G spectrum case, an application was

filed by the petitioner therein being IA No. 73 of 2014 in

which it was prayed as follows:

“(i) Direct the CBI Director Shri Ranjit Sinha not to

interfere in investigation and prosecution of the case

relating to the 2G spectrum allocation being carried out by

the CBI, and to recuse himself from the case.

(ii) Pass further orders as may be deemed fit and proper.”

16.An additional affidavit dated 5

th

September, 2014 was

also filed in support of IA No. 73 of 2014 in which it was

prayed that this Court should “order an SIT investigation

into the gross abuse of authority committed by the CBI

Director in trying to scuttle investigations and prosecutions

2

Civil Appeal No. 10660 of 2010: Centre for PIL v. Union of India

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 8 being carried out by the CBI in 2G scam cases and other

prominent cases…”

17.After an elaborate hearing, this Court passed an order

in IA No. 73 of 2014 on 20

th

November, 2014 the relevant

portion of which reads as follows:

“To protect and preserve the sanctity and the fair

name of the institution including the reputation of

the Office of the Director of CBI, we are not

deliberately giving out elaborate reasons. It would

suffice for us to observe that the information

furnished by the applicants is prima facie credible

and therefore requires to be accepted.

Let it not be said by anybody, that we have not given

any reasons while disposing of the application. We

are reiterating this statement only to prevent flak

from several quarters of the society. We would like to

re-emphasize that elaborate reasons are not

necessary, only to protect the reputation of the CBI

from being tarnished.

In view of the above, we grant the aforesaid relief

sought by the applicants and pass the following

orders:-

(i) We recall our earlier order passed on

15.09.2014 so far as it relates to I.A. No. 73 of

2014.

(ii) We direct Shri Ranjit Sinha, CBI Director

not to interfere in the investigation and

prosecution of the case relating to the 2G

spectrum allocation that is carried out by the

CBI, and to recuse himself from the case.

(iii) Shri Ranjit Sinha shall be replaced by the

senior most officer of the investigating team,

constituted by the CBI to investigate into the

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 9 case relating to the 2G spectrum allocation

and continue the proceedings further.

With the above observations, I.A. No. 73 of 2014

(application for directions) is disposed of.”

3

18.In support of his submission that an SIT should be

constituted to look into the abuse of authority by Mr. Ranjit

Sinha in attempting to scuttle the investigations into the

coal block allocations, Mr. Prashant Bhushan filed a short

note dated 12

th

January, 2015. Along with the note, he

annexed a photocopy of a file in respect of the case against

the Dardas (abovementioned). It was submitted by Mr.

Prashant Bhushan during the course of his oral

submissions that the photocopy of the file was given to him

by a whistle blower.

19.In response, the CBI filed a note date 18

th

September,

2014 in a sealed cover indicating the detailed procedure

followed by the CBI before a final decision is taken by a

competent authority on closing a case or filing a charge

sheet. It is not necessary for us to go into the details of the

procedure followed but it is necessary only to mention that

the CBI does follow quite a detailed and open process of

discussion and expression of views before a final decision is

3

(2015) 2 SCC 362

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 10 taken on matters before it. We may record that we have

absolutely no quarrel with the procedure prescribed by the

CBI before it takes a final decision. With regard to the ‘entry

register’ relied upon by Mr. Prashant Bhushan it is stated

that a copy thereof has not been supplied to the counsel for

the CBI and in any case it is the subject matter of an

enquiry before another Bench dealing with the 2G spectrum

case.

20.The CBI also filed a note dated 20

th

February, 2015 in

a sealed cover. In this note, the merits of the controversy

relating to the Dardas are adverted to and the decisions

taken by the CBI have been justified. It is also stated that

the strength of the CBI lies in the multiple levels of

supervision where each level is free and independent in

expressing its views and recommendations. It is only after

taking account of these views and recommendations that

the competent authority passes a final order which then

becomes the stand of the CBI.

21.With reference to the ‘entry register’ or the visitor’s

diary, it is stated that it has not been supplied to the CBI

and it was not maintained by the CBI. It is submitted that

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 11 since false statements have been made by Common Cause

in respect of the case pertaining to the Dardas, the ‘visitor’s

diary’ must also be viewed with suspicion.

22.Our attention has also been drawn to the order dated

8

th

May, 2013 passed by this Court to the effect that the

secrecy of the inquiries and investigations must be ensured.

It is submitted in this context that the fact that Common

Cause has obtained a copy of the note sheets of the office

file indicates that the secrecy of the concerned file has been

compromised and that the CBI is taking steps to ascertain

how the file moved out of the office.

23.Mr. Prashant Bhushan filed a note in rejoinder

essentially reiterating the submissions made.

24.As far as Crl. MP No. 387/2015 filed by Mr. Ranjit

Sinha is concerned, he states that Mr. Prashant Bhushan,

Common Cause and Mr. Kamal Kant Jaswal of Common

Cause have deliberately made misstatements and stated

facts that are not true with a view to mislead this Court. It

is submitted in the application that according to them, one

Mr. Moin Qureshi had dealings with Mr. Sinha and that an

appraisal report prepared by the Income Tax Department

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 12 contained some details in this regard. It is submitted that

this allegation was found to be incorrect and was stated so

by the learned Attorney General when he appeared in this

Court on 17

th

October, 2014. This Court had also seen the

appraisal report and did not find anything to link Mr. Moin

Qureshi with Mr. Sinha.

25.It is also stated that in IA No. 13/2014 as well as the

additional affidavit filed in support of this application it has

been falsely stated that Mr. Ranjit Sinha had overruled his

subordinate officers with a view to bring a closure to certain

cases and this was false to the knowledge of Mr. Prashant

Bhushan and Mr. Kamal Kant Jaswal.

26.Significantly, in paragraph 6 of the application (that is

Crl. MP No. 387 of 2015) Mr. Sinha has adverted to the

contents of paragraph 9 of IA No.13/2014, wherein it has

been stated that Mr. Sinha met some accused persons in

some prominent cases including the Coal Block Allocation

case without the investigating officer being present. While

adverting to this, Mr. Sinha states in paragraph 6 of the

application as follows:-

“That it has wrongly been averred in para 9 that Shri.

Sinha (Former Director, CBI) repeatedly overruled the

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 13 Investigating Officers and forced them not to register

FIRs/RCs in cases where PEs had been registered. It

has been further wrongly averred that Shri Sinha forced

the officials to file closure reports in cases where FIR’s

has already been registered.”

27.It is noteworthy that Mr. Sinha does not deny that he

met some accused persons in the Coal Block Allocation

case without the investigating officer being present.

Submissions and discussion

28.We heard Mr. Prashant Bhushan for Common Cause,

Mr. Amarendra Saran, learned Senior Counsel for the CBI

and Mr. Vikas Singh, learned Senior Counsel for Mr. Ranjit

Sinha in considerable detail over a few days.

29.We are of the opinion that it is not at all necessary for

us, nor is it advisable at this stage, to enter the thicket of

allegations made by Common Cause with regard to the

investigations relating to the Dardas or the alleged attempt

by Mr. Ranjit Sinha to scuttle the investigations with regard

to one or more of the accused persons in that case. What is

of greater importance and what has caused us considerable

concern is that neither Mr. Ranjit Sinha nor the CBI denies

that Mr. Ranjit Sinha had met some persons, including the

Dardas, who are accused of criminality in the Coal Block

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 14 Allocations case without the investigating officer or the

investigating team being present.

30.On the contrary, it is argued on behalf of Mr. Ranjit

Sinha that it is his job to meet the accused persons and to

get their point of view before taking a final decision in the

matter of their criminality. It is submitted that there is no

wrongdoing if he as the Director of the CBI meets some

accused persons so that if they are innocent, they should

not unnecessarily and without proper justification be

subjected to a criminal prosecution.

31.We need not comment on the opinion of Mr. Ranjit

Sinha expressed through his learned counsel Mr. Vikas

Singh except to say that even if Mr. Sinha is right, there

cannot at all be any justification for him to meet any

accused person in a criminal case where investigation is

underway, without the investigating officer being present,

whether it is in his office or as alleged by Mr. Prashant

Bhushan, at his residence and that too, allegedly, several

times including late at night. If at all Mr. Sinha as the

Director of the CBI had to meet any accused person for

obtaining his point of view on the allegations against him,

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 15 he should have done so in the presence of the investigating

officer or the investigating team. The fact that Mr. Sinha

admittedly met some accused persons in the absence of the

investigating officer or the investigating team is itself a

cause for concern.

32.There is a very high degree of responsibility placed on

an investigating agency to ensure that an innocent person is

not subjected to a criminal trial. This responsibility is

coupled with an equally high degree of ethical rectitude

required of an investigating officer or an investigating

agency to ensure that the investigations are carried out

without any bias and are conducted in all fairness not only

to the accused person but also to the victim of any crime,

whether the victim is an individual or the State.

33.In Sidhartha Vashisht @ Manu Sharma v. State

4

this Court made the following observations with regard to

the entitlement of an accused to a fair investigation:

“In the Indian criminal jurisprudence, the accused is

placed in a somewhat advantageous position than under

different jurisprudence of some of the countries in the

world. The criminal justice administration system in India

places human rights and dignity for human life at a much

higher pedestal. In our jurisprudence an accused is

presumed to be innocent till proved guilty, the alleged

4

(2010) 6 SCC 1

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 16 accused is entitled to fairness and true investigation and

fair trial and the prosecution is expected to play balanced

role in the trial of a crime. The investigation should be

judicious, fair, transparent and expeditious to ensure

compliance with the basic rule of law. These are the

fundamental canons of our criminal jurisprudence and

they are quite in conformity with the constitutional

mandate contained in Articles 20 and 21 of the

Constitution of India.”

34.Similarly, in Manohar Lal Sharma

5

this Court

observed that investigations have to be fair, impartial and

uninfluenced by external influences. It is stated as follows:

“A proper investigation into crime is one of the essentials of

the criminal justice system and an integral facet of rule of

law. The investigation by the police under the Code has to

be fair, impartial and uninfluenced by external influences.

Where investigation into crime is handled by CBI under the

DSPE Act, the same principles apply and CBI as an

investigating agency is supposed to discharge its

responsibility with competence, promptness, fairness and

uninfluenced and unhindered by external influences.”

6

35.In the present case, the contention of the learned

counsel appearing on behalf of Mr. Sinha is that there is

nothing to indicate that his client tried to scuttle the

investigations and the reference to the investigations in the

case of the Dardas is completely misplaced. It was

contended by learned counsel appearing for the CBI as well

as learned counsel for Mr. Ranjit Sinha that a prayer for an

5

(2014) 2 SCC 532

6

Paragraph 33 of the Report

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 17 investigation by an SIT having not been accepted by this

Court in the application made in the 2G spectrum case, the

same request in this application should not be accepted.

36.As mentioned above, it is not necessary for us to

examine whether the investigation into the case of the

Dardas was in any manner influenced by Mr. Sinha at any

point of time. What is of importance is that as justice must

not only be done but it must also appear to have been done,

similarly, investigations must not only be fair but must

appear to have been conducted in a fair manner. The fact

that Mr. Sinha met some of the accused persons without the

investigating officer or the investigating team being present

disturbs us with regard to the fairness of the investigations.

This is all the more so if we keep in mind the fact that in the

2G scam investigations, this Court had concluded in its

order dated 20

th

November, 2011 that Mr. Ranjit Sinha

should not interfere in the investigation and prosecution of

the case relating to the 2G spectrum allocation and to

recuse himself from the case. That an SIT was not ordered

in the 2G spectrum case is not relevant. A view was taken

that Mr. Sinha should be directed to not interfere in the

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 18 investigations in that case and that, coupled with his

meeting accused persons in the Coal Block Allocation case

without the investigating officer being present, is enough to

persuade us that some further inquiry is necessary to

ensure that the investigations have been fair in the coal

block allocation cases where Mr. Sinha has had one or more

meetings with one or more accused persons.

37.Learned counsel appearing for the CBI passionately

submitted that any adverse order that we may pass in this

regard would irreparably damage the credibility of the CBI.

In our opinion this argument is fallacious. If an

independent inquiry shows that the CBI has acted fairly, it

will enhance its institutional credibility and its image. On

the other hand, if the independent inquiry shows that Mr.

Ranjit Sinha managed to influence some specific

investigations in the Coal Block Allocations case, it will

serve the larger public interest and will enable the CBI to

take appropriate corrective and remedial measures. Either

way, through an independent inquiry the CBI will be the

beneficiary rather than the loser.

38.While opposing IA No. 13/2014 and supporting Crl.

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 19 MP No. 387/2015 Mr. Vikas Singh relied upon Perumal v.

Janaki

7

to contend that when a palpably false statement is

made for extraneous reasons, it is an appropriate case for

the exercise of jurisdiction under Section 195 of the Code of

Criminal Procedure 1973 (for short the Code).

39.Similarly, reference was made to State of Madhya

Pradesh v. Narmada Bachao Andolan & Anr.

8

where

also this Court observed that it is a settled proposition of

law that a false statement made in Court or in the

pleadings to intentionally mislead the Court and to obtain a

favourable order amounts to criminal contempt as it tends

to impede the administration of justice.

40.On the other hand, Mr. Prashant Bhushan referred to

Indirect Tax Practitioners Association v. R.K.Jain

9

with

regard to the growing acceptance of the phenomenon of a

whistle blower. This Court observed that the respondent in

that case was the whistle blower who had tried to highlight

the malfunctioning of an important institution established

for dealing with cases involving the revenue of the State

and there was no reason to silence such a person by

7

(2014) 5 SCC 377

8

(2011) 7 SCC 639

9

(2010) 8 SCC 281

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 20 invoking the contempt powers of the Court under the

Constitution or the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

41.Though the submissions made by Mr. Sinha’s

learned counsel on the contents of his application were

limited, the oral submissions spread over a larger canvas. It

is submitted by Mr. Vikas Singh that Mr. Prashant

Bhushan, Common Cause and Mr. Kamal Kant Jaswal

have not only committed perjury but are also guilty of

contempt of Court and additionally Mr. Prashant Bhushan

has violated the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1923

by placing on record the official notes with regard to the

case of the Dardas. We have considered Mr. Sinha’s

application from all these angles.

42.In our opinion, the submissions made by Mr. Vikas

Singh in this regard do not deserve acceptance. It is true

that this Court had required the Director, CBI to ensure, by

its order dated 8

th

May, 2013 that the secrecy of the

inquiries and investigations into the allocation of coal

blocks is maintained. However, if somebody accesses

documents that ought to be carefully maintained by the

CBI, it is difficult to find fault with such a whistle blower

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 21 particularly when his or her action is in public interest. It is

another matter if the whistle blower uses the documents for

a purpose that is outrageous or that may damage the

public interest. In that event, it would be permissible for

this Court or an appropriate Court to take action against

the whistle blower, if he or she is identified. However, the

present case is not of any such category. The whistle

blower, whoever it is, acted purportedly in public interest

by seeking to bring out what he or she believes is an

attempt by Mr. Ranjit Sinha to scuttle the investigations

into the affairs of the Dardas or others in the Coal Block

Allocation case. As mentioned above, we are not

considering whether the file notes actually disclose an

attempt by Mr. Sinha to scuttle the investigations. All that

is of relevance is whether the disclosure by the whistle

blower was mala fide or not. We are of the opinion that the

disclosures made by the whistle blower were intended to be

in public interest.

43.In these circumstances, it is difficult to hold that Mr.

Prashant Bhushan or Common Cause or Mr. Kamal Kant

Jaswal had any intention to mislead this Court in any

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 22 manner, nor do we agree that they have perjured

themselves. The file notes speak for themselves and any

interpretation, even an allegedly twisted interpretation said

to have been given to them, cannot fall within the realm of

perjury.

44.As far as the allegation that there has been a

violation of the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1923

is concerned, we are of the opinion that the file notes in

this case cannot be described as an ‘official secret’ for the

purposes of prosecuting Mr. Prashant Bhushan.

45.Accordingly, Criminal Misc. Petition No. 387 of 2015

is dismissed.

46.With regard to IA No. 13 of 2014, since we have held

that it was completely inappropriate for Mr. Ranjit Sinha to

have met persons accused in the Coal Block Allocation case

without the investigating officer being present or without

the investigating team being present, it is necessary to look

into the question whether any one or more such meetings

of Mr. Sinha with accused persons without the

investigating officer have had any impact on the

investigations and subsequent charge sheets or closure

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IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012

Page 23 reports filed by the CBI. We require assistance in this

matter, particularly for determining the methodology for

conducting such an inquiry. For rendering assistance to us

in this regard, notice be issued to the Central Vigilance

Commission returnable on 6

th

July, 2015.

...…………………….J

(Madan B. Lokur)

...…………………….J

(Kurian Joseph)

...…………………….J

(A.K. Sikri)

New Delhi;

May 14, 2015

I.A. 13 of 2014 and Crl.M.P. No.387 of 2015 Page 23 of 23

IN W.P. (C) No. 463 of 2012