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Delhi HC directs inclusion of Chidambaram's name in plea

The Delhi high court on Friday directed Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy to include the name of Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram in his criminal revision petition seeking the latter's prosecution for allegedly not disclosing in his 1991 tax returns, the true value of the promoter's shares of the Fairgrowth Financial Services Ltd acquired in 1991.

Justice Jaspal Singh asked Dr Swamy to amend his petition and comply with the court's direction within two days and ordered the serving of a show-cause notice to Chidambaram thereafter. The case was then adjourned to November 17, by which date the finance minister has to reply to the notice.

Earlier, on August 19, the court had issued notices to the Delhi government asking it to reply within two weeks on Dr Swamy's petition.

Dr Swamy alleged that not only had Chidambaram acquired the promoter's shares of Rs 10 each, he also sold some of them on power of attorney at a rate of Rs 2,000, which is banned under the civil servants law.

He said that though he had collected sufficient evidence, the trial court erred on many accounts while dismissing his petition.

The Janata Party president contended that the 10,000 promoter's shares were allotted out of turn to Chidambaram as a 'gift' for the Rs 4.5 billion investment made by the public sectors companies in the Fairgrowth company during his tenure as the commerce minister.

Dr Swamy alleged that otherwise there was no reason how a small company could turn into one holding million of rupees of assets within a few days.

He said generally promoters shares were allotted by a managing director of a company from his discretionary quota on first-cum-first serve basis. However, in Chidambaram's case no such measure was adopted by the company and the shares were allotted only because the finance minister, who at the relevant period of time was the commerce minister, was a close friend of the managing director of Fairgrowth Financial Company, he alleged.

The petition sought a direction from the court for ordering an inquiry against Chidambaram under Sections 156(3) and 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The petition filed through counsel K K Mannan alleged that only Chidambaram bought promoters shares at a face value of Rs 10 per share in 1991, he also did not file his wealth tax returns for the year 1991-92 on time.

It alleged that Chidambaram, who had bought 10,000 FFSL shares out of the promoters quota at par, thus augmented his wealth by Rs 546,000.

The petition sought Chidambaram's prosecution under Section 13(1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, for abusing public position to favour FFSL as he approved the investment of public sector units STC and MMTC in the company.

He also obtained pecuniary advantage by getting the promoters shares. Section 20 of the Prevention of Corruption Act is also involved because of the prima facie case of offences committed under Section 11, Dr Swamy alleged.

The Janata Party leader said that even the Joint Probe Committee, which investigated the securities scam, had found that public funds of STC, MMTC were grossly misused by FFSL in the scam and that promoters shares to ministers (only one) were an inducement.

UNI