By IANS,
New Delhi : Referring to the US diplomatic cables revealed by WikiLeaks on what has come to be known as the cash-for-votes scam, an NGO Monday approached the Supreme Court for a direction for constituting a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case.
The WikiLeaks expose hinted that the Congress allegedly bought MPs to win the 2008 trust vote in the Lok Sabha.
Petitioner India Rejuvenation Initiative sought the setting up of “a team of independent investigators to investigate all aspects surrounding the scam”.
The apex court bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice R.M. Lodha adjourned the matter for two weeks as the petitioner had not annexed the first information report (FIR) that was filed in connection with the alleged scam.
The petition said that the government did noting to unearth the truth as it knew that the “truth will come out the moment any serious and independent investigation is conducted into the matter”.
The NGO said the independent SIT should have power, infrastructure and budget required for the investigation.
The petition said that the SIT should complete its investigations within six months and the same should be monitored by the court.
The SIT should have the powers to pick expert prosecutors and other investigating officers drawn from “different departments and wings of the government”, the petition said.
The FIR related to the alleged scam is pending with Delhi Police for the last three years. “Delhi Police are directly under the government of India, the same very entity whose conduct is being investigated,” the petition said.
Referring to the July 22, 2008, episode in which wads of currency notes were placed on the table of the Lok Sabha by some opposition members, the petition said that influencing parliamentarians to vote for the party in power had “shaken the roots of democratic polity”. It was “the darkest day” in the history of Indian parliament.