Court still to decide on Mahato turning approver
Additional Sessions Judge Ajit Bharihoke has said he could permit
former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP Shailendra Mahato to turn approver
in the 'MPs bribery case' only if he was satisfied that the accused
had information which would ''help me further in just adjudication
of the matter''.
''Accordingly, the application of accused Shailendra Mahato is
marked to learned chief metropolitan magistrate for recording
his statement under Section 164 CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code),''
Bharihoke said in his order.
The judge said the recording of the statement should be completed
within a week and till then further arguments on his application,
moved on Tuesday, would be kept pending.
Bharihoke issued the order even as Central Bureau of Investigation
counsel A K Dutt submitted that Mahato had already given in his
application certain details which would strengthen the prosecution
case.
CBI counsel Dutt said the bureau is in favour of permitting Mahato
to become a prosecution witness in the case in which former prime
minister P V Narasimha Rao and 20 others, including the former
JMM MP, are named as accused for allegedly giving or taking bribe
amounting to tens of thousands of rupees to defeat the no-confidence
motion against the Rao government on July 28, 1993.
Earlier, in the day, arguments were advanced against framing of
charges by counsel for former federal minister Ram Lakhan Singh
Yadav and Ram Saran Yadav.
Ashok Arora, counsel for the former minister, said almost the
entire statements of the nearly 300 witnesses submitted by the
CBI were based on mere ''hearsay'' and not even circumstantial
evidence had been produced.
Quoting a Supreme Court judgment and constitutional provisions,
he said members of Parliament and legislative assemblies were
not public servants and as such did not come under the purview
of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
With his submissions, arguments on charges have been completed
in respect of all the accused except former Haryana chief minister
Bhajan Lal which is to be heard on Thursday.
UNI
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