Double blow to anti-Modi suspended IAS Pradeep Sharma at SC

New Delhi, 17 January 2014

The Supreme Court of India today refused plea of Gujarat cadre suspended IAS Pradeep Sharma to to allow him to travel to the United States to meet his wife and son, who are American citizens. Sharma is facing five criminal cases in Gujarat including one for attempting to flee the country on fake passport.

Supreme court made it clear that it will hear the plea on alleged snooping of a woman in Gujarat only if Sharma has compiled with its order of removing scurrilous allegations against Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

It should be mentioned that in May 2011, the Supreme Court had forced Sharma to delete wild personal allegations against chief minister Narendra Modi. A bench comprising Justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha came down hard on Sharma and ordered removal of the offensive portions from his petition. The bench had told Sharma’s lawyer, “We will not permit such character assassination.”

PTI reports:

The apex court said Sharma’s application for CBI probe into alleged snooping can only be considered after examining that he has complied with its May 12, 2011 order.

In 2011 Sharma had sought handing over of the probe of criminal cases against him to the CBI and shifting the trial outside Gujarat. He was directed by the apex court to file an amended petition by deleting the paragraphs having “scurrilous” allegations against Modi.

Since the amended petition was not available during the hearing, a bench comprising justices Ranjana Prakash Desai and M B Lokur said “there was a need to compare the orginal petition and the amended one”.

“Let us see whether you have first complied with our order or not. We want to go through the amended petition,” the bench said, adding there was a need to compare the petitions as Gujarat government and Modi’s close aide and senior BJP leader Amit Shah alleged that Sharma has retained the scurrilous allegations in the application for CBI probe.

“If that is so we will compare the paragraphs. We have to see that the order has to be followed. If the order has been complied with we will go into it, otherwise we will not entertain it,” the bench said while posting the plea on snoopgate after two weeks.

Sharma’s counsel Prashant Bhushan contended that gist of the allegation against Modi was necessary in the application to show the alleged malafide by Gujarat government which has foisted false cases against the suspended IAS officer and his brother Kuldeep Sharma, a senior IPS officer who refused to lodge cases against dancer Mallika Sarabhai.

However, his submission was opposed by Shah’s counsel Mahesh Jethmalani saying there was complete non-compliance of the May 12, 2011 order by Sharma, who was directed not to retain allegations made in 10 paragraphs of the original petition.

While rejecting Sharma’s plea for permission to travel, the bench took into account its earlier order by which several restrictions were imposed on him while he was granted bail.

“We are not inclined to allow his plea (to travel to the US). The application is rejected,” the bench said while referring to the conditions imposed on him.

Gujarat’s Additional Advocate General Tushar Mehta opposed Sharma’s plea for travelling abroad by referring before the bench to some other cases including the one of 2007 in which he was absconding and later traced in New Delhi in a guest house where he was staying on a fake identity.

He said Sharma was allegedly having a driving licence with his photograph but with a different name and the scrutiny of his laptop disclosed that he was trying to flee from the country.

Referring to the apex court order, Mehta said, “the court said till police complete probe in cases he will not leave the country and his passport would not be returned till the disposal of five cases against him.”

Taking note of the Gujarat government’s submission, the bench said, “it appears difficult to grant this prayer”.

“I have been party to that order,” Justice Desai said while adding that “with the background of the case it is little difficult to allow him to travel abroad”.