Role of Reliance in Oil scam being investigated: govt

New Delhi, May 30 (UNI) The government today submitted before the Delhi High Court that the role of former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, the Congress party and Reliance Industries in the ''oil-for-food'' scam during the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq is being investigated by the Justice Pathak Commission.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Kailash Gambhir directed the government to file a status report on the probe within eight weeks.

Adjourning the matter till August 21, the bench asked whether information had been collected from other parts of the globe or not.

Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for the government, said some officials of the Reliance Industries had also been questioned to ascertain the company's involvement in the deal.

He informed the Court that ''information was coming from all over the globe''.

The petition sought reasons for the alleged discrimination by the government in instituting a commission to probe Mr Natwar Singh but not the Congress party or Reliance who have been mentioned in the Volcker Report.

The Volcker Committee report had named Mr Singh, Congress and Reliance Petroleum Ltd as the non-contractual beneficiaries, who allegedly paid a kickback to disgraced Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for lifting oil under the United Nation's Oil for Food programme.

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