Respond to allegations about meetings with coal scam accused: SC to CBI chief Ranjit Sinha

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked under-fire CBI director Ranjit Sinha to respond to allegations about his meetings with coal scam accused, adding that the allegations against him were serious.

Earlier, Sinha had said that he would recuse himself from the coal scam investigation if the Supreme Court orders so.

Sinha is under the scanner for his alleged meetings with corporate honchos, including certain accused of the 2G spectrum, coal scam cases and Kanpur-based meat exporter Moin Qureshi at his residence.

However, the CBI director, on the basis of legal advice, has decided to file a case of perjury for malicious, deliberate and intentional false statement made against him by an NGO in the Supreme Court.

Mr Sinha’s reaction came immediately after an application filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan, counsel for the NGO, before the top court demanding that he be kept away from the coal block allocation scam probe because “he interfered with it”.  

The NGO stated that a visitor register of Mr Sinha’s residence showed that officials of the accu-sed telecom companies used to regularly visit his official residence at 2, Janpath. Moin Qureshi, a meat exporter, against whom the income-tax department has launched a probe for alleged tax evasion, is also shown as having had frequent meetings with him.