I Stand Vindicated: Former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal

NEW DELHI: Former Railway Minister Pawan Bansal has told ET that he has been vindicated following CBI's decision not to charge-sheet him in the cash-for-jobs case. CBI will submit a chargesheet on Wednesday, without making any mention of Bansal who had to quit as minister after the agency arrested his nephew for allegedly accepting a bribe.

"I said on day one that I have nothing to do with this case and my nephew Vijay Singla or any other relative cannot meddle in my official decisions. If CBI has now confirmed that in its chargesheet, I can only say that I have been vindicated," Bansal told ET, reacting to the development.

"There is no sufficient or prosecutable evidence against Pawan Kumar Bansal in this trap case. There is no mention of him in the chargesheet," a CBI spokesperson told ET, saying ten others have been chargesheeted, including Vijay Singla. A senior CBI investigator said the probe in the case was over and this was the final chargesheet, ruling out any possibility of a supplementary chargesheet.

He said Bansal had only been examined by CBI in order to seek an explanation from him regarding his nephew seeking a bribe from a Railway Board member to fix an appointment and there was no move to make him a prosecution witness in the trial.

CBI's decision is in line with director Ranjit Sinha's comments to ET published on May 14 that it was a "difficult case to prove" against Bansal who could have a strong defence to deny any wrongdoing on his part.