NEW DELHI: Setting former CBI special director M L Sharma against the agency’s ex-chief, Ranjit Sinha, the Supreme Court on Monday sought Sharma’s consent to head an investigation into whether Sinha had influenced the 2G and coal scam probes.

Sinha, when he was CBI director, had allegedly met people accused in the 2G and coal scandals at his official residence without the presence of investigating officers.

On May 14, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Madan Lokur had agreed to order a probe against Sinha based on a complaint from advocate Prashant Bhushan who produced the visitors’ diary at the ex-CBI chief’s residence to accuse him of scuttling the SC-monitored probe and save the accused.

READ ALSO: 12 days before his retirement, SC removes CBI director Ranjit Sinha from 2G case

On Monday, the bench of Justices Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A K Sikri suggested to attorney general Mukul Rohatgi that Sharma was honest and had impeccable integrity. He could head the special investigation team that could also have two-three good officers drawn from other investigating agencies.

Rohatgi said he would contact Sharma for his consent and if he agreed to take up the task, he would suggest names of other officers in consultation with Sharma on July 13.

Bhushan suggested that the probe against Sinha, who retired last December 2, be headed by former SC judge Santosh Hegde and former DGP Prakash Singh be included in the team.

The court had said on May 14 that there could be no justification for Sinha's secret meetings with those accused in the coal scam. It was a matter of concern and probe was required to find out whether such meetings influenced the CBI's investigations into the scam, it said while turning down the agency's contention that any probe against Sinha would severely damage its image and credibility.

READ ALSO: Coalgate- Ex-CBI chief Ranjit Sinha needs to be probed for protecting accused, SC says

Sinha as CBI director had presented the coal scam investigation status report for vetting to UPA government’s law minister Ashwani Kumar prior to its filing before the Supreme Court, which had berated the agency as the government’s “caged parrot”. But disclosure of entries in the visitors’ diary was a serious setback for Sinha.

The SC was firm that a probe was required into the allegations and had said, “The fact that Sinha met some of the accused persons without the investigating officer or the investigating team being present disturbs us with regard to the fairness of the investigations.”

The court recounted that on November 20 last year, a fortnight before Sinha's retirement, it had restrained him from handling 2G scam cases on the basis of similar charges made by Bhushan based on visitors' diary entries.

“A view was taken that Sinha should be directed to not interfere in the investigations in that case and that, coupled with his meeting accused persons in the coal block allocation case without the investigating officer being present, is enough to persuade us that some further inquiry is necessary to ensure that the investigations have been fair in the coal block allocation cases where Sinha has had one or more meetings with one or more accused persons,” the bench had said.

“Since we have held that it was completely inappropriate for Ranjit Sinha to have met persons accused in the coal block allocation case without the investigating officer being present or without the investigating team being present, it is necessary to look into the question whether any one or more such meetings of Sinha with accused persons without the investigating officer have had any impact on the investigations and subsequent charge sheets or closure reports filed by the CBI,” it had said.

