Also discharged were the three Jain brothers -- S K Jain, B R Jain and N K Jain -- and their secretary J K Jain.

In his 132-page order, the judge said, ``I find that there is no evidence against any of these accused persons which can be converted into legal evidence.''

He also noted, ``Corruption and nepotism is rampant in our society of today, more particularly at the higher level, ie, at the seat of power and it is a matter of grave concern that persons highly placed in political life and holding office of great responsibility should indulge in any illegal activity.''

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered the case on March 4, 1995, after two diaries and files were recovered during a raid at the G-36, Saket, residence of J K Jain.

The raid was conducted while the CBI was investigating a case under the Foreign ExchangeRegulation Act and Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. The diary entries revealed that Rs 65.47 crore had been paid to 115 people from 1988-91. Of this, Rs 53.5 crore was found to be illegally transferred to India via hawala channels.

According to the CBI, Khan allegedly received more than Rs 6.5 crore from the Jain brothers between May 1988 and April 1991. Of this, Rs 654.40 lakhs was allegedly paid to him between May 1990 and August 1990, when he was Minister for Energy and Civil Aviation.

Khan took charge of the Energy Ministry on December 6, 1989. The file pertaining to the Kawas Gas-Based Combined Cycle Project of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) had been pending with both the Department of Power and the NTPC since 1986. Judge Gupta today said, ``... for reasons best known to'' Khan, ``he cleared the award of contract in favour of M/s Alsthom Export of France in just one meeting on January 23, 1990.''

The CBI alleged that soon after this -- in February 1990 -- largesums of money started flowing into a new account and US $ 5.3 million was received by the Jains upto September 1990.

It was also during this period that Khan was allegedly paid Rs 654.40 lakh. ``This is thus prima facie a payment of reward to him by M/s Alsthom through the Jains,'' said the CBI.

But apart from the diaries, there was no additional evidence. In the V C Shukla and L K Advani cases, the Delhi High Court had held that there had to be corroborative evidence apart from the diaries, while quashing the lower court order that framed charges against the two.

When the CBI appealed to the Supreme Court the judges maintained: ``... no reliance can be placed on these documents... as all these documents are not books of account within the meaning of Section 34 of the Evidence Act''.