CBI court denies plea for copies of Law Ministry documents

A Special CBI Court on Saturday dismissed the application moved by the counsel of retired Justice Nirmal Yadav, who has been accused in a bribery case, demanding photocopies of the records submitted by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice. The court has listed the case for February 22, for arguments on framing of charges.

In an hour-long argument between the defense and the prosecution regarding the issue to supply the photocopies of the documents from the ministry, the court directed the defense counsel to "inspect" the documents as much as they wanted, but the court did not allow them to take the photocopies of the documents.

The counsel for the defense pleaded, "The records are going to be considered while the charges are being framed in the case. Though we have inspected the documents, it is important that we read them thoroughly to prepare the case. For the same, it is necessary to take photocopies as the records are voluminous".

The public prosecutor for CBI replied, "The defense can go through the documents as many times as they want. We neither claim the documents to be confidential, nor are we demanding any privilege. The prosecution has no problem if the defense wants to see the documents with the permission of the court as many times as they want".

The court then ordered the defense to read the documents in court. "The defense is allowed to take notes by hand or with the help of a stenographer. However, their application to provide photocopies of the records is dismissed," read the order. The records pertain to sanction of the prosecution against Yadav. The Ministry had submitted the records in the Special CBI court on December 8. The defense counsel had then sought time to examine the records.

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