SC to hear PIL against Beni Verma

The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday a public interest writ petition for a CBI probe into the misuse of office by the former UPA steel minister Beni Prasad Verma as per the recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee.

The PIL, filed by a social activist Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, comes up for hearing before a three- judge bench headed by Chief Justice H. L. Dattu.

The grievance of the petitioner was that during his tenure as steel minister, Mr Verma had spent the corporate social responsibility ( CSR) funds of his ministry against the standard guidelines.

He said the standing committee of Parliament on coal and steel, in its 35th report, pointed out gross lapses on the part of the ministry of steel with regard to the fact that CSR activities as undertaken by the said ministry had grossly spent the funds in the two districts of Uttar Pradesh, namely Gonda and Barabanki, only because the then steel minister Beni Prasad Verma happened to belong to these two districts of the Uttar Pradesh.

He said the “Gonda is the parliamentary constituency of the former minister which is represented by him in Lok Sabha. Barabanki is the place of residence of the minister. It is shocking to note that different steel PSUs, namely SAIL, RINL, NMDC, MOIL, MECON, MSTC, HACL etc. have spent their funds on CSR activities flouting the guidelines.”

The petitioner said “the committee was appalled to note the haphazard manner in which CSR activity work was carried out by the steel PSUs, particularly in two districts of Uttar Pradesh, namely Barabanki and Gonda”.