Coal scam: SC seeks reply on why Aditya Birla Group's case was taken under ordinary criminal law

NEW DELHI: A special Supreme Court bench today grappled with the question whether it could go into the issue of seizure of unaccounted cash worth Rs 25 crore, a diary and other incriminating documents from Aditya Birla Group's Corporate Office here in 2013 after CBI said it had "no nexus" with coal scam and an NGO countering that stand.

While CBI maintained that the case has to be delinked from the coal scam and considered separately under the ordinary criminal law, NGO 'Common Cause' charged the probe agency of washing its hands off by not bringing it to the apex court's jurisdiction, along with main coal scam cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Taking note of the submissions of both sides, a bench headed by Justice M B Lokur, sought an answer saying "will it not be expanding our jurisdiction by considering the issue (of recovery of money and diary)."

Before posting the matter for September 21, the bench sought to know from CBI counsel and senior advocate Amarender Sharan as to why the case relating to recovery of huge cash and diary from the premises of the group's corporate office during the coal scam case probe, take ordinary course of law.

Sharan said the CBI probe has established "no connection" between the coal block allocation scam and recovery of diary containing names and references to monetary transaction.

Moreover, the cash was recovered "from a private place inside the corporate office of the firm", he said.

He also said the apex court in its finding in the Jain Hawala case had made it clear that "entries in the (Jain) diary does not mean that a case has to be there under PCA."

However, the bench wanted to know "what will happen if the probe agency comes with evidence of other offence connected with it in course of investigation of one case."

The CBI counsel said in that case, "let him go for ordinary criminal procedure".

"Why will he go for ordinary criminal course and not ascertain possible nexus with (case under investigation)? You feel there is no nexus but the next question on getting evidence is whether any criminality is involved or is any black money involved," the bench, also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and A K Sikri, said.