Recalling orders on Capt Satish Sharma was a mistake: SC

New Delhi, Jan 20 (UNI) In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court has admitted after 7 years that it was wrong on its part to withdraw the orders, directing the then Union Petroleum Minister in the P V Narasimha Rao government, Captain Satish Sharma, to pay a fine of Rs 50 lakh for his involvement in the petrol pump distribution allotment scandal.

A three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, who has since retired, Justices C K Thakker and R V Raveendran, in its judgement on January 10 this year, (copies of which were made available to the media yesterday) observed, '' Though we find considerable force in the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner that court, in a review petition, was not right in setting aside the direction for payment of Rs 50 lakh personally from the minister concerned, particularly when the court had recorded a finding earlier that the act was illegal, improper and unconstitutional on the part of the minister.

''In the facts and circumstances of the present case, we are not inclined to enter into a 'larger question' in view of the fact that it is not necessary to do so,'' the court said.

It may be noted here that the apex bench, headed by Justice Kuldeep Singh (since retired), had imposed a penalty of Rs 50 lakh each, in 1996, on Captain Sharma and the then Union Urban Development Minister Shiela Kaul for making arbitrary allotments of petrol pumps, LPG gas agencies, shops and kiosks in favour of their relatives, friends and staff members.

The apex court had also cancelled all allotments made by the then two Union Ministers.

A review petition was filed after the retirement of Justice Kuldeep Singh and orders of a fine of Rs 50 lakh each were recalled in 1999.

Justice Thakker, writing a 34-page judgement for the bench, made the above mentioned significant observations, reflecting introspection by the highest court of the land.

The ruling came on a petition filed by one Vikram Dhillon, seeking damages of Rs 10 lakh from the ex-director of medical college, Rohtak, Dr Major General Virender Singh and the Haryana government for illegally denying him admission into the college.

The court, while dismissing the petition, reprimanded the Haryana government for not properly assisting it by presenting the relevant facts before it.

The court, however, granted liberty to the petitioner to take recourse to appropriate legal proceeding in accordance with the law if advised so.

UNI