Rahul Gandhi has once again bitten off more than he can chew. Days after the Congress Vice President mounted personal corruption charges on PM Narendra Modi, claiming he had proof of the latter’s corruption, the Supreme Court has denied the legitimacy of the documents upon which Gandhi was apparently basing his allegations.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the said documents seized by the Income Tax department, which were part of a PIL filed by Prashant Bhushan, claiming they were ‘fictitious’ and not credible enough to launch a probe, Times of India reported.
Bhushan, a noted and the head of ‘Centre for Public Interest Litigation’ (CPIL) had filed the petition against supposedly illegal political pay-offs by corporate houses such as Aditya Birla Group and Sahara, to politicians. Narendra Modi was one of the politicians named in the PIL (from his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister).
The documents allegedly prove that Modi, who was Gujarat CM in 2013, had received undeclared payments from the Sahara Group.
In an earlier hearing however, a bench led by Justices Khehar Singh and Arum Mishra had said the evidence was ‘zero’ and ‘on-authentic’, claiming no Sahara documents could be solely trusted since the company itself is fighting its own legal battles. Bhushan had been asked to procure more evidence by Dec 16, a job he failed to do.
The bench has adjourned the hearing of the case till January 11, after Bhushan alleged that it was unfair for Khehar Singh to be part of the ruling bench since his application to become the next Chief Justice of India is still awaiting the Prime Minister’s nod.
The dismissal may come as an embarrassment to the Congress Party after its VP Rahul Gandhi created a media splash by claiming that the PM was ‘terrified’ of the information Gandhi possessed.
Feature Image Source: PTI