The Delhi High Court yesterday issued notices to former Union ministers Kamal Nath, Buta Singh and BD Dhakne and former MP Chand Ram as CBI appealed against their discharge in the Rs 65 crore Jain-hawala case.
Justice Jaspal Singh also issued notices, returnable on November 10, to the key accused jain brothers, SK Jain, BR Jain and NK Jain, and their secretary JK Jain, and SS Sandhu, who was challaned by CBI in the case along with Buta Singh.
The judge asked the registry to requisition the trial court records in this regard. Special judge VB Gupta had on June 12 discharged all of them in the case on the ground that the Jain diaries, cited as key evidence against the accused, were held inadmissible in the eyes of the law.
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The CBI has also appealed against the discharge of former Chief Minister of Delhi Madan Lal Khurana, former Union ministers Madhavrao Scindia, ND Tiwari, RK Dhawan and Arjun Singh in the case by the trial court.
All these cases would come up for hearing on November 10.
The CBI said the trial court judge erred in holding that there is no legal evidence in the case.
The investigating agencys appeal petition, seeking setting aside the trial court order, said the special judge did not appreciate materials of the case in the correct perspective in relation to the circumstancial evidence that they offer.
The CBI, in its chargesheet, had alleged that the Jain brothers had given Rs 22 lakh as bribe to Kamal Nath between November 1989 and April 1991 when he was a member of Parliament.
The investigating agency alleged that Buta Singh, while he was the Union home minister, had received Rs 7.5 lakh from the Jains as bribe during May-September 1989. It was alleged by CBI that BD Dhakne, while holding the post of Union minister of state for energy, had received an illegal gratification of Rs 10 lakh from the key accused in the case.
Former member of Parliament from Hardoi constituency in Uttar Pradesh Chand Ram had received a bribe of Rs 1.2 lakh from the Jains between December 1990 and April 1991, the agency alleged.
The four Jains were cited as common accused with each of the politicians, while Sandhu was the additional accused along with Buta Singh in the case.