Govt seeks 2G trial blackout

New Delhi, Oct. 10: The Centre today told the Supreme Court that the unintended consequences of open hearings in the 2G case were "destabilising the system" and suggested further proceedings be conducted behind closed doors.
"The media coverage and applications (filed by petitioners), based on incomplete facts, are not in anyone's interest," senior lawyer P.P. Rao said, adding that these were "destabilising the system without any justification".
This is the first time that the government has linked the "destabilisation" factor ' a common refrain of governments under siege ' to court hearings in the 2G case.
The court was hearing arguments on whether home minister P. Chidambaram, who was finance minister when 2G licences were allotted, should be investigated. The court has reserved its order.
Rao questioned the scope of court monitoring in the case. The CBI also felt that as the chargesheets had been filed, the top court could direct it to probe the case in any which way.
"Investigation can't be held in public. Investigation needs to be conducted confidentially, away from the glare of the media and the public, including the petitioners, as otherwise, public interest would suffer and the object of a thorough investigation frustrated," Rao said.
He described as "destabilising" the demands of Subramanian Swamy and lawyer Prashant Bhushan that former Supreme Court judges monitor the case.
"The applications were based on assumptions, conjectures and wishful inferences," Rao's written submissions handed over to the court said.
"Open court hearings of such applications and the media coverage without having access to the actual contents of progress reports (submitted by the CBI) is becoming counter-productive and is retarding the pace of investigation and defeating the object of investigation. It would be in public interest to monitor further investigation in respect of offences not yet taken cognisance of in chambers and to allow public servants concerned to discharge their duties unaffected by undue speculation in the media based on incomplete facts."
The suggestion that further hearings be held in-camera prompted the two judges, G.S. Singhvi and Asok Kumar Ganguly, to point out that the submissions were being made belatedly.
"Can we prevent anyone from filing applications? Can we tell the media not to write?" the bench wondered.
Justice Ganguly asked the government to file a proper application seeking in-chambers hearing, shorn of the media and public, if it so wanted.
The bench wondered if directing a further probe into allegations was in any way against the law. "We are not asking the CBI to probe in a particular way," Justice Ganguly said.

The media has not always covered itself in glory.
During 26/11, when terrorists attacked Mumbai, the media was responsible for a number of deaths at the way they gave ball by ball description of what our security forces were doing. This alerted the terrorists within who they took action to kill our people.
The media goes out of its way to describe how the police go about trapping the criminals. The next lot of criminals become wise of the police ways and change their tactics.
The police too are to be blamed for this state of affairs. They are so publicity thirsty that they relay the smallest bit of new to the media.
Why can't they follow the FBI or Scotland yard who do not announce anything unless they have a iron clad case against the criminals and arrest the criminals.
Our police make all the announcements so that the criminal can flee.
Having said that, I would like to point out that the premier investigation agency of India, the CBI is under the thumbs of the government.
The government makes it move the ways it wants it and not the way which will bring justice.
The courts are the only refuge of the common man and the government is trying to put fetters on the courts functioning.
There should not be in camera sittings.
Let the people know how corrupt our government is.