Making a desperate bid to get out of the JMM bribery case, former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and his Cabinet colleague Buta Singh have pleaded innocence before the Delhi High Court but CBI said the trial court judgement has no flaws and their three-year jail term should be upheld.
While Rao and Buta Singh's counsel during their over a week long arguments on their appeals tried to discredit former JMM MP Shailendra Mahato, who turned an approver and admitted to have received Rs 50 lakh as bribe for voting in favour of Congress government in 1993. “Counsel for the accused had enough opportunity in the trial court to cross examine Mahato whose testimony they are questioning now,” Sud said.
The trial court had sentenced Rao and Singh to three-year jail terms on the basis of Mahato's sole evidence as all other key witnesses of CBI had turned hostile before trial judge.
Sud said, “The money paid to four JMM MPs within two-three days of the defeat of the motion, which still remains seized by CBI in a bank in New Delhi, is a sufficient material evidence to corroborate Mahato's statement and for upholding the trial court judgement. Bureau Report