Justice P Bhaskaran commission, inquiring into the affairs of the Churhat Childrens Welfare Society, yesterday dismissed senior BJP leader Kailash Joshis application urging the summoning of former Union minister Arjun Singh as a witness.
Justice Bhaskaran, in a 32-page judgement, said the evidence on record and the interests of justice do not warrant that Arjun Singh should be brought to the witness box to give evidence and subject himself to cross-examination. The judge said Joshi had no right to compel Singh to come to the witness box for being examined. I find that Joshi has not made out a case for summoning Singh to come to the witness box to give evidence and submit himself for cross examination, Justice Bhaskaran said.
The application was earlier rejected on October 21, 1994 by the committee, then headed by justice S T Ramalingam, who had ruled that no party will have the right to insist on the oral examination of any respondent on an affidavit.
Joshi moved the Madhya Pradesh High Court against Justice Ramalingams dismissal of his application and a single judge of the court on July 10, 1995 asking the commission to consider the application for summoning Singh afresh in accordance with law.
Singh then filed an application in the High Court against the order of the single judge and a division bench later said that the observations made by the single judge should not be treated as adverse.
The observations of the single judge should not be treated as a command on the authority of the commission of enquiry for calling Singh for cross-examination, the bench said.
The commission chairman said that O P Sahani, counsel for Joshi, had pointed out that both Joshi and Singh were important leaders in their own way.
Sahni had said that as Joshi had chosen to come to the witness box, Singh should also be graceful enough to appear as a witness.
This statement can only be an expression of his wish. Of course, it was open to Singh to come to the witness box on his own, Justice Bhaskaran said.
He said in case the interests of justice and materials on record required that Singh be summoned to the witness box, the commission can compel him to do so.
He, however, said that in the evidence let in before the commission, there was no material warranting Singh to give an explanation by entering the witness box.
