Breach of trust shakes SC

Top court demands freedom for CBI; Congress scrambles for cover

The Congress-led UPA government faced its worst ever political crisis after the Supreme Court on Tuesday ripped apart the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for showing its investigation report on the coal scam to the government before submitting it to a judge.

Coming down heavily on the agency, the court told the CBI “not to take instructions from your political masters”.

In a scathing attack, the top court described the sharing of the draft probe report by the CBI as a “massive breach of trust that has shaken our foundation”.

The court’s strong observations seemed to have put the government in the dock with the entire Opposition demanding the resignation of Union law minister Ashwani Kumar.

There had been a flurry of activity in the Congress camp with the law minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political adviser, Ahmed Patel, meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. While no decision has yet been taken to remove the law minister, some feel that the government might not buckle under pressure. “It will give the Opposition a handle then to demand the Prime Minister’s scalp. Also, sacking the law minister before the Karnataka polls is not advisable,” a senior Congress leader said. However, some party MPs feel otherwise.

The Left has also demanded the resignation of JPC chairman P.C. Chacko along with the law minister.

The Supreme Court observed that “suppression” of the fact that the CBI shared the probe report with the government “is not ordinary”. Speculation was rife that the government also wanted CBI director Ranjit Sinha to follow its lead. The CBI chief was reportedly advised by his close associate not to do so.