The UPA-I and UPA-II regimes were mired in allegations of graft, from sale in 2G spectrum and coal block allocation, to even purchasing of VVIP choppers from AgustaWestland. Now, another scam seems to be rearing its head, with the Supreme Court on Thursday ordering the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe "unnecessary" purchases of aircraft for Air India (AI), which is currently expanding its services.
The scam seems to look big, because the number of aircraft whose purchase is under question is 111. Also under probe is the leasing out of some of these aircraft. And the total expenditure incurred in the purchase is said to be Rs 70,000 crore.The Union civil aviation minister at the time was Praful Patel of the Nationalist Congress Party, a coalition member of the Congress in the UPA regime at the time of the scam -- between 2004 and 2008.
The apex court was hearing a petition filed by an NGO called Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL). The allegations in the petition include "allotment of bilateral routes to private airlines" at AI's expense, and "an aborted order for the porches of biometric passenger identification system allegedly at an inflated price," according to an IANS report.
While hearing the case, a Supreme Court Bench of Chief Justice of India JS Khehar and Justices NV Ramana and DY Chandrachud observed that most of the allegations levelled by the CPIL have also been mentioned by authorities like CAG [the Comptroller and Auditor General of India] or the PAC [the Public Accounts Committee] in adverse terms.
The bench then said: "The CBI shall take into consideration all the allegations made in the pleadings of the instant petition, and take a call thereon, based on the evidence collected." It may be noted that the CBI is already probing the allegations, having lodged a complaint in this regard around three years ago.
The court added: "As and when the final determination is rendered, whether to initiate criminal proceedings or otherwise, it shall be open to the aggrieved party (if any), to take recourse to the remedies available to it, in consonance with law." It also told the CBI: "We hope and expect, that the CBI will adhere to the time frame indicated to us, namely, June 2017."
