Corruption case: Virbhadra Singh again moves high court

SHIMLA - Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh Tuesday again moved the Himachal Pradesh High Court, seeking to transfer a corruption case against him and his wife to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

He also sought that the CD case against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Director General of Police D.S. Manhas also be investigated in the same manner as the probe against him.

In the petition, Virbhadra Singh said that after Dhumal became chief minister in December 2007, the government registered a case against him Aug 3, 2008, and his wife under the Prevention of Corruption Act on the basis of an audio CD released by his political adversary Vijai Singh Mankotia in 2007.

Police say that in the CD, Virbhadra Singh was heard allegedly referring to some monetary transactions during his phone conversation with Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Mahinder Lal, who is now dead. It also allegedly contained the voices of his wife and some industrialists.

The high court had turned down Virbhadra Singh’s petition Sep 3 seeking transfer of his case to the CBI.

His counsel said the court disposed off the petition with the observation that investigation could not be transferred to the CBI under Section 482 of the CrPC.

“Now we are seeking the transfer of case under Article 226 of the constitution,” the counsel added.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing Thursday.

Virbhadra Singh also alleged that when the two audio CDs surfaced - both allegedly containing voices of Dhumal and one containing the voice of Manhas in January this year - the government adopted different yardsticks of their investigation.

He demanded that the case be investigated against Dhumal and Manhas in the same manner as was investigated against him.

In the alleged conversation recorded in one of the CDs, Manhas (then the vigilance chief) was heard asking Dhumal about tapping the phones of Virbhadra Singh and his wife. At this Dhumal replied: “Do it.”