Coalgate: Eight take-aways from CBI's affidavit filed in Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: In an affidavit filing that has escalated the political crisis faced by government in the Coalgate issue, the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI) on Monday admitted that changes to the draft report in the coal scam were proposed by Law Minister and a PMO official.

In the 9-page affidavit filed by CBI director Ranjit Sinha in the Supreme Court, the investigative agency stated the changes that were proposed. Here is a look at eight take-aways from the affidavit that CBI filed.

1) Draft status report was shared with political executive and AG, not the status report

2) No names of suspects or accused were removed from the status report and no suspect or accused was let off, CBI has said

3) CBI: It is difficult at this stage to attribute each change to a particular person with certainty

4) Changes in the status report were made on the suggestions given by Attorney General and PMO official

5) Shatrughan Singh, JS PMO, A K Bhalla, JS Coal Ministry met in the chamber of Joint Director CBI at the request of JS PMO

6) Former ASG Harin Raval and Attorney General G E Vahanvati were present in the meeting with the law minister

7) Consequent changes in the report have neither altered its central theme nor shifted the focus of inquiries in any manner, says CBI

8) CBI chief Ranjit Sinha extended unconditional apology to court for any inadvertent omission or commission, assures it of independent probe in coal scam

In his earlier affidavit filed on April 26, Sinha had said, "I submit that the draft of the same (status report) was shared with Law Minister as desired by him prior to its submission before the Supreme Court. Besides the political executive, it was also shared with one joint secretary level officer each of Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Coal as desired by them," the affidavit said.