The government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that documents linked to the controversial Rafale deal were stolen, possibly by public servants. This has triggered an intense debate across the political spectrum raising some serious questions. The fact of the matter is by saying that confidential and secret documents have been stolen, the Attorney General KK Venugopal has only sought to digress from contentious issues and divert the focus from the alleged corruption angle.
By arguing on documents being stolen, the AG is not questioning the authenticity of the matter. How can documents which are very relevant to the case, whether stolen or missing from the defence ministry, be discarded on the premise of they being stolen? For the record, Justice KM Joseph said even stolen evidence could be looked into provided it was authentic and relevant. The apex court has in earlier cases maintained that illegally obtained evidence can be admitted provided it is relevant in doing justice. The Evidence Act is clear on this. The onus is on the government to contest the veracity of these documents in public domain. Violation of Official Secrets Act is a different subject matter and can be dealt separately according to the laws.
By changing focus it becomes increasingly clear that the government is trying all that it possibly can to avoid a judicial probe into the deal while also trying to keep off a probing media. Threatening action under the Official Secrets Act is only a way to prevent further exposure.
Venugopal claimed these reports were based on secret documents stolen from the defence ministry, possibly by former employees. This brings us to another argument. It exposes more than what it intends to hide. What it literally means is that the custody of these documents with the defence ministry is a question mark. It means that documents with the defence ministry can go missing or can be stolen. Who in this case would be responsible? And when did it dawn on the government that sensitive documents have been stolen?
And how serious is the government with the ‘stolen documents’ theory? We raise this question for the simple reason that there has been no probe into a controversial tape that surfaced in Goa early January this year alleging that crucial Rafale files are stacked inside the bedroom of ailing chief minister Manohar Parrikar at his Dona Paula residence. Lest we forget, the 1.28-minute long audio tape purportedly of Health Minister Vishwajit Rane created a flutter and left the BJP red-faced. While Vishwajit had even given a letter seeking an inquiry into the tape, there was no probe and the issue was conveniently forgotten.
With the ‘stolen’ theory on a slippery gradient, it remains to be seen which way the Rafale controversy is headed.
