LoC scam: SC adjourns case against Mahanta

NEW DELHI, March 21: Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta today managed to buy himself some time in the civil suit relating to the multi-crore Letter of Credit (LoC) scam, with the Supreme Court adjourning the hearing of the case till July. The final hearing of the suit filed by Nabin Kalita was deferred on the plea of the Assam Government counsel who wanted the case to be heard after the State Assembly elections scheduled for next month. "It was pointed that elections are to be held next month in the State and at this the case should not be heard," Assam Government's senior counsel, Vijay Hansaria told this newspaper. After hearing the arguments of the two sides, the Division Bench of KT Thomas and RP Sethi adjourned further hearing of the case till July. The Chief Minister's case was also pleaded by the additional Solicitor General of India, Altaf Ahmed, while AGP member, Keshab Mahanta was present in the court room on behalf of the Chief Minister. The hearing of the case on the poll-eve left the AGP members anxious as it has the potential to make or mar the fortune of the regional party even before the polls were announced. The contention of the state government's counsel, however, provoked sharp opposition from the petitioner's counsel, L Nageswar Rao, who pointed out that the case should be heard and decided now. They contended that it was not a political but a legal case and as the Chief Minister is involved it should not be further delayed. As it is the case that was filed in 1998 was to have been heard in April last year but was delayed until this year. The Chief Minister's counsels also sought to link up the case with the Jayalalitha's case by questioning whether the case could be heard now as the case involving the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was pending before the Constitution Bench. The counsels suggested that the Court should await the decision of the Jayalalitha case before hearing the case further. The petitioners on the other hand challenged the action of the Governor by arguing that he acted arbitrarily and acted as judge. However, the CBI said they have accepted the Governor's order and have so far not challenged it. The CBI's submission sets at rest all speculations about the possibility of the Bureau reopening the case by filling a petition before the Governor to review his order. Kalita through his petition has challenged the Constitutional power of the Governor by arguing that he acted to protect the Chief Minister and exceeded beyond his power. He also claimed that the CBI charge sheet was clear and had enough evidence to prosecute the Chief Minister for his involvement in the multi-crore LoC scam. The CBI's request for permission to prosecute the Chief Minister was turned down by the Governor, Lt Gen (retd), SK Sinha who ordered that the Bureau could not satisfy him that they had enough evidence to implicate Mahanta in the over Rs 400 crore scam. Meanwhile, the AGP members heaved a sigh of relief as the case had a strong political overtone and verdict against Mahanta would have put paid to their electoral fortunes in the forthcoming Assembly elections. The regional party suspects that Nabin Kalita is but a front and the man behind the suit is former State Home Minister, Bhrigu Kumar Phukan. The Congress party which has been closely monitoring the progress of the case admitted that today's outcome was a set back for them but contended that it would not stop them from raking up the LoC scam in the polls. The Congress party is promising review of the charge sheets in the LoC in its election manifesto.