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Media has right to report of CBI chief visitors' book: SC

by IBNS 03 Sep 2014, 10:09 pm

New Delhi, Sept 3 (IBNS): The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the media has a right to publish the list of visitors to the house of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief Ranjit Sinha, who had appealed to the apex court to keep the records private, after a recent controversy over Reliance Telecom officials meeting him several times at this residence.

The apex court, however, asked the media to behave responsibly.

Sinha told the top court that all charges against him are "patently false".

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha has landed in a controversy surrounding the 2G scam though the latter denied any wrong doing.

CBI chief met top officials of the Reliance Telecom at least 50 times in 15 months at his official residence here in Delhi, media reports said based on information by lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan appearing for Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), an NGO associated with 2G spectrum case.

 Bhushan approached the Supreme Court and told that visitors' entry register at Sinha’s 2, Janpath residence is "very disturbing" and contains "explosive material" in 2G spectrum allocation scam against Reliance Telecom.

If media reports are to be believed, it has been alleged that top officials of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) have met CBI chief Ranjit Sinha at least 50 times in 15 months at his official residence here in Delhi.

Media reported that the apex court’s bench comprising of Justices H L Dattu, S A Bobde and A M Sapre, before whom the petition has been made, asked the CPIL’s counsel Prashant Bhushan to present the 'explosive material' details in a sealed cover before it so that it can go through it and examine the issue by Thursday.

Reacting to this, the federal investigation agency’s chief on Wednesday  accepted that he did meet Reliance executives at his home, but it was “not inappropriate”.

Giving reactions to NDTV channel, CBI chief said, "I have met officials of Reliance but have I shown favour to anyone?"

He stated that those meetings took place "once or twice" at an office at his home, and not 50 times as alleged by a recent media report.

He also described a visitors' diary from his home which will be reviewed by the Supreme Court on Thursday as "fake".

Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Telecom is among the companies accused of paying kickbacks to former Telecom Minister A Raja to get out-of-turn mobile network licenses in 2008.  

Some of its top executives were jailed along with Raja.  

All the accused are on bail and are being tried on criminal charges.