HVK Archives: An amazing order, this
An amazing order, this - The Free Press Journal
Editorial
()
9 September 1996
Title : An Amazing Order, This
Author : Editorial
Publication : The Free Press Journal
Date : September 9, 1996
It is indeed a sign of the times we live in that even a
man of L K Advani's sterling character has to bear the
cross. Friday's order by a Delhi magistrate rejecting the
BJP President's plea against the CBI chargesheet against
him in the Rs 65-crore Jain Hawala case may well be
indicative of the current anti-politician mood in the
country. It may. also reflect the holier-than-thou
mindset of an activist judiciary. For, there was much in
Advani's case which was germane to his plea for
dismissing the CBI charges at the very threshold of the
trial. Much that had a prior merit to warrant calm
consideration unaffected either by any prejudice or
preconceived notions about the crookedness of most
politicians. The Special Judge, V. B. Gupta, however, in
his wisdom has chosen not to meet point by cogent point
raised by Advani's counsel to demolish the CBI case. It
is also amazing that the CBI was allowed to be
represented by a bewildering succession of counsels who,
together, failed to make a convincing case for charging
Advani under the hawala case. It was the CBI's and
presumably now Judge Gupta's - case that the entries
found in the Jain diaries were true. Advani's counsel
did not question the veracity of those entries, either.
And taking the diaries to be the gospel truth, went on to
point out to the hon'ble court that his client's name did
not figure in any of those damning diaries. The argument
flummoxed the CBI counsel. But in time he responded that
Advani's name figured all the same in a loose sheet of
paper, if not in the tell-tale diaries. Very well, said
the BJP leader's counsel. In that case, let us add up
all the income that the Jains had recorded for the
specific period under review in their books of accounts
and the monies they had disbursed through their hand-outs
to politicians, bureaucrats and others as listed in the
diaries. Agreed, said the CBI. The sums were done for
the benefit of the Judge. It turned out that the amount
received by the Jains totalled exactly the amount
distributed by them as shown in the entries in the diary.
That helped to establish that they had the kind of funds
they distributed to the people in high places whose names
figured in an abbreviated form in the Jain diaries. But
there remained that little snag about the missing 'LKA'
initials from any of the diaries. So how do you slap a
hawala case against the BJP President when his name is
not there in the diaries on the basis of which everyone
else other than Advani had been implicated in the hawala
seam? But, then, you have LKA written on a loose sheet
of paper which was found by the CBI during the raids.
Very well. If all the money the Jains had distributed is
accounted for by the diaries, where did they get the
money to give it to Advani? NO ANSWER. Yet, the court
went ahead and pronounced that there was sufficient
evidence to frame charges against Advani!
One has to recognise the majesty of the law as
interpreted by the judiciary. So we cannot quarrel with
Judge Gupta's order against Advani even if we find
glaring lags in the CBI case against him which may well
have escaped the court's notice. After all, courts too
are not infallible. Otherwise there would not,be a
provision of appeal against their orders to the superior
courts. Another point needs must be made. That is, the
same judge will now hear the case proper. And hear
almost the same arguments from the opposing counsels that
were adduced before him in the lengthy hearing on the
admissibility of the chargesheet. Advani therefore
stands to suffer from double jeopardy. Is that fair?
Even if the idea is to crucify the most visible symbol of
"Hindu communalism", there must be some equity and fair
play in the means adopted in a modem democracy. In our
humble view, and without any disrespect to the judiciary,
we believe, that the designated Hawala.Judge, V.B. Gupta,
is no more fit to try the case against Advani following
his order last Friday. For, should Advani prove his
innocence, his acquittal will require the same Judge to
more or less reject his own order directing the BJP
leader's trial. This will be unfair to Judge Gupta. And
unfair to Advani, too, for he will be called upon to
demolish the case before the same magistrate who
committed him to trial in the first place by lending
credence to the case against him in the pre-trial
proceedings. We do hope there are enough people of
goodwill in the country who can de-link their personal
predilections and political prejudices to be able to
concede Advani his right as an ordinary citizen to a fair
trial. That is 'the' heart of the issue in the case
against him.
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