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CBI given 2 months's time to wind up probe into Mukta-Panna deal

The Delhi high court today granted two months's time to the Central Bureau of Investigation to complete its inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the multi-million-rupee Mukta-Panna oilfields contract, awarded to the joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd and the American company, Enron, in 1994.

In its brief order adjourning the hearing till August 5, a division bench of the court, consisting of Justices Y K Sabharwal and C K Mahajan, said if the inquiries were not completed within the stipulated time, it would consider appointment of an independent committee to carry out the probe.

Alleging irregularities in the deal, the petitioners, the Centre for Public Interest Litigation and the National Alliance of People's Movements, had sought criminal investigation into and cancellation of the contract between the government and the private consortium which has 60 per cent equity. They had also sought the constitution of an independent committee to probe the deal, terming the CBI inquiry as ''unsatisfactory''.

The judges in their order said, ''We have perused the case diaries. More than a year back, the then CBI director had expressed the desirability to expedite the inquiry.'' The court said it was granting two months's time to the agency in view of the submission by the CBI superintendent of police that the preliminary inquiry was at its fag end and was likely to be completed soon.

With regard to the inquiry into the ''missing'' Part-II file, the judges said they had no doubt that this would also be completed within the stipulated time.

The Part-II file contained the recommendations of the then CBI SP, Y P Singh, for registration of a regular case regarding the contract, and was said to have been subsequently destroyed by Murli Iyengar, a clerk in the CBI's Bombay office, on the instruction of the same officer.

The judges felt the issue of the 'missing' file was the main aspect of the case.

They said without prejudice to the petitioners' contention, the court may consider the appointment of an independent inquiry committee even after the CBI probed the matter.

Regarding the CBI counsel A K Dutt's prayer seeking polygraph test for Vimal, general secretary of the NAPM, during the probe, the judges remarked that the agency should have subjected Murli Iyengar to it.

Earlier, counsel for the Oil and Natural Gas Commission justified the privatisation of the Mukta-Panna oil fields as the estimated cost of fully developing it was high (projected over Rs 30 billion).

He said the conditions laid down by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for their loans also necessitated a policy decision to privatise the oil sector.

UNI