The Supreme Court on Monday (October 12) dismissed a plea for investigation into purchase at inflated price of caskets for soldiers martyred during the Kargil war and other items since the issues had been decided by trial courts. The Supreme Court had been monitoring this case since 2004. It is noteworthy that irregularities had been alleged in procurement of material, munitions and missiles during the Kargil war in 1999. This had sparked a major political controversy, spoiling the image of the then NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The Supreme Court bench of Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice V. Gopala Gowda dismissed the petition as counsel S. Balasubramanian appearing for the Central Government told the court that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arraigned one Victor Baiza in the aluminium casket purchase case, but he was discharged by the court of metropolitan magistrate.
Similarly, Balasubramanian said, the CBI investigated the charges of wrongdoing in the purchase of Krasonpol ammunition, found nothing and filed a closure report that too was accepted by a trial court.
Balasubramanian said that allegations of wrongdoing in the purchase of snow suits were based on mere apprehensions as no contract was entered into and consequently no money was paid.
K.G. Dhananjay Chauhan moved the apex court for investigation into the alleged wrongdoings in the purchases done during the Kargil war in 1999 and sought putting in place a transparent procedure for the purchase of defence material.
The plea for investigation into the alleged scams had become infructuous in the wake of lower courts’ decisions, the apex court said.
