I heard a new verse of the kid’s poem, which goes “I sent a letter to my boss and on the way I copied it”. What inspired it? Well, on April 30, 2013, the Government of India asked Additional Solicitor General of India (ASG), Harin Raval to resign. ASG Raval had shot off a letter about the coal scam Status Report to Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar and sent a copy of the letter to his own boss, the Attorney General (A-G) of India, Goolam Essaji Vahanvati. This is following the denial by the government that the CBI had shared the Status Report with the law minister, the PMO and coal ministry functionaries. Which is what the ever-dependable CBI claims.
Woah, now that’s what you call a letter bomb. What did the letter say to push Raval to the exit door? In it, ASG Raval arraigned A-G Vahanvati of trying to influence the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the allocation of coal blocks. On March 6, 2013, Raval, who was representing the CBI in the Supreme Court in the coal block allocations case received a message from law minister Ashwani Kumar asking for details of the Status Report on the coal scam.
Anything specific got Vahanvati’s goat, or did he simply take umbrage at his junior turning traitor? There are some juicy bits, such as when Raval writes that Vahanvati “not only exhibited ignorance of facts stated in the status report which (he) you had earlier perused, but had made a statement that what is stated in the status report was not to (his) your knowledge and the same was not shared with the government.” According to him, both of Vahanvati’s claims are false.
Then? Raval says there was a meeting with the CBI which Vahanvati also attended. The meeting was to discuss the report. A few days after the meeting, Raval said nobody from the parties in power had perused the report. But CBI director Ranjit Sinha filed an affidavit stating that the Status Report was indeed shared with the law minister, the PMO and coal ministry functionaries.
So why is he singing a different tune now and putting pen to paper? He claims that he’s been made a “scapegoat” of, because Vahanvati claims that no such meeting took place.
Seems more like Raval is singing like a canary because he’s realised that the truth will come out sometime soon, and the only head that will roll is his.
So who are the Attorney General, Solicitor General and the Additional Solicitor General? The Attorney General of India is the Indian government’s chief legal counsel. The A-G, as his friends and foes call him, is appointed by the President of India under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and must be a person qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court. He is the government’s lawyer in the Supreme Court. Vahanvati is the current A-G.
And the ASG? The government’s second most important lawyer is the Solicitor General of India. A group of Additional Solicitors General reports to the Solicitor General of India who reports to the Attorney General. Raval is Vahanvati’s junior at office.
So this little skirmish must be quite upsetting for the people deciding the law of the land. Not really. The Attorney General has come under attack over time, often from its own juniors. Raval isn’t the first ASG who has questioned his A-G’s moves. During the Emergency, the Supreme Court sanctioned arbitrary arrests and checks in what was infamously known as the Habeas Corpus case. In April 1976, ASG Hans Raj Khanna emerged as the lone dissenter against then A-G Niren De, while the Supreme Court buckled under Indira Gandhi’s pressure tactics. In July 2011, Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam protested against private lawyer Rohinton Fali Nariman appearing for Kapil Sibal in the 2G case and resigned. Nariman was appointed Solicitor General immediately after.
And do the CBI and the Attorney General’s office get along or not? In August 2005, the then A-G, Milon Banerjee advised the CBI to close investigations against Mayawati in the Taj Corridor case despite mounting evidence to the contrary. In April 2009, Ottavio Quattrochi went off CBI’s list of wanted persons and the Red Corner Notice against him was withdrawn. Who was the A-G then? Milon Banerjee. (In both instances, the CBI buckled).
Hmmm. So with Vahanvati and the coal scam, is history repeating itself?
What’s the latest? Supreme Court has asked CBI to file a new affidavit listing the changes that were made in the status report.
What will happen to ASG Rawal? If history sets the precedent, he will have to go.
What will happen to A-G Vahanvati? If history is the precedent, he will stay.
