SC terms cash-for-vote scam probe hopeless

A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha also expressed surprise over the status report submitted by the police claiming that no political leader was involved in the scam. “You have not done anything exceptional in the last two years. It is only after certain orders by the court that you have been activated,” the bench said, terming the police inquiry as “hopeless and half-hearted”.

It declined a plea made by Additional Solicitor General Haren Rawel to grant 40 days for completing the probe and directed that it be finished within three weeks. Delhi police had recently arrested two persons, Sanjeev Saxena and Suhail Hindustani, following the rebuke received from the apex court. Former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh had also been questioned by the investigators.

The court had acted on a petition filed by former chief election commissioner J M Lyngdoh seeking its directions to the government to take action against politicians involved in the scam. According to the petition, though the incident had occurred on July 22, 2008, neither the Delhi Police nor the chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which inquired into the allegations, had so far taken any tangible step to initiate action against those responsible.