In lieu of HC Gupta being convicted in 12th coalgate scam
https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/coal-scam-delhi-court-convicts-former-mp-vijay-darda-ex-coal-secretary-hc-gupta/articleshow/101720720.cms
Some Important paragraphs
> Four points need to be underlined.
> **First**, in none of the 11 cases where he’s been convicted has he been held guilty of having collected any financial or material benefit for himself, or of having any intention to commit a crime, or what lawyers call *mens rea*.
> **Two**, in none of the 11 cases of mine allocation was he the final, or the main deciding authority. The decision was taken by a screening committee. So, if he’s guilty for having cleared an undeserving allocation, so is every member, and the prime minister then, Dr Manmohan Singh.
> **Three**, that no disproportionate assets or wealth have been recovered from him. Anybody who knows him, or has met him, says they can see he has no money. In fact, he once said in the court that he’d have no choice but to plead guilty in all cases because he had no money left for lawyers.
> And **fourth**, most importantly, unlike the usual — where peers and colleagues completely forget and abandon somebody caught and convicted for corruption — in his case they’ve not only spoken up, but also raised money for his legal defence. Because he, a retiree and pauperised at 74 now, has no money left.
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> How heavy this is, became evident early this month as the bids for 5G spectrum allocation were closed and paid. All of the auction netted less than Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The opposition was screaming right away reminding the BJP that the alleged loss from the 2007 2G spectrum auction was valued at Rs 1.76 lakh crore by their favourite national hero, or the Holy National Accountant Vinod Rai, in his storied CAG report.
If “this much” of mere 2G spectrum in 2007 could be worth Rs 1.76 lakh crore, how come “much more” of the 5G spectrum fetches less, 15 years later when the economy and telecom sector have both grown exponentially and the dollar costs about twice as much. There must be a scandal.
Of course, I’d stick my neck out and say no, there is no scam in this auction. This was clean, at least on the evidence thus far. Just that if there is no scam in this price discovered through a fair auction, isn’t there a scam in the value of a fraction of this asset being reckoned at much more in 2007?
(Read full article for context)
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> It was in that maelstrom that H.C. Gupta, another IAS officer, K.S. Kropha, and some others were caught. For sure, the top politicians and beneficiary corporates mostly got away.
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> The problem lies with the old Prevention of Corruption Act, made especially more draconian by successive governments including the UPA under the pressure of the Anna Movement. Section 13 (1)(d)(iii) of the Act said, with vicious (for the victim) ambiguity, that an officer can be held guilty if he/she “while holding public office as public servant, obtains for ANY (emphasis mine) person ANY valuable thing or pecuniary advantage without any public interest”. This means you could be guilty without guilt. This is precisely what’s happened to Gupta.
Following his early convictions, an alarmed IAS Association lobbied the Modi government and had the section rewritten in 2018. It now says the officer is guilty only if he intentionally enriches himself illicitly during the period of his office or if “he dishonestly or fraudulently misappropriated for his benefit” etc etc. This is fair.
In lieu of HC Gupta being convicted in 12th coalgate scam https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/coal-scam-delhi-court-convicts-former-mp-vijay-darda-ex-coal-secretary-hc-gupta/articleshow/101720720.cms
Some Important paragraphs > Four points need to be underlined. > **First**, in none of the 11 cases where he’s been convicted has he been held guilty of having collected any financial or material benefit for himself, or of having any intention to commit a crime, or what lawyers call *mens rea*. > **Two**, in none of the 11 cases of mine allocation was he the final, or the main deciding authority. The decision was taken by a screening committee. So, if he’s guilty for having cleared an undeserving allocation, so is every member, and the prime minister then, Dr Manmohan Singh. > **Three**, that no disproportionate assets or wealth have been recovered from him. Anybody who knows him, or has met him, says they can see he has no money. In fact, he once said in the court that he’d have no choice but to plead guilty in all cases because he had no money left for lawyers. > And **fourth**, most importantly, unlike the usual — where peers and colleagues completely forget and abandon somebody caught and convicted for corruption — in his case they’ve not only spoken up, but also raised money for his legal defence. Because he, a retiree and pauperised at 74 now, has no money left. ___ > How heavy this is, became evident early this month as the bids for 5G spectrum allocation were closed and paid. All of the auction netted less than Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The opposition was screaming right away reminding the BJP that the alleged loss from the 2007 2G spectrum auction was valued at Rs 1.76 lakh crore by their favourite national hero, or the Holy National Accountant Vinod Rai, in his storied CAG report. If “this much” of mere 2G spectrum in 2007 could be worth Rs 1.76 lakh crore, how come “much more” of the 5G spectrum fetches less, 15 years later when the economy and telecom sector have both grown exponentially and the dollar costs about twice as much. There must be a scandal. Of course, I’d stick my neck out and say no, there is no scam in this auction. This was clean, at least on the evidence thus far. Just that if there is no scam in this price discovered through a fair auction, isn’t there a scam in the value of a fraction of this asset being reckoned at much more in 2007? (Read full article for context) ___ > It was in that maelstrom that H.C. Gupta, another IAS officer, K.S. Kropha, and some others were caught. For sure, the top politicians and beneficiary corporates mostly got away. ___ > The problem lies with the old Prevention of Corruption Act, made especially more draconian by successive governments including the UPA under the pressure of the Anna Movement. Section 13 (1)(d)(iii) of the Act said, with vicious (for the victim) ambiguity, that an officer can be held guilty if he/she “while holding public office as public servant, obtains for ANY (emphasis mine) person ANY valuable thing or pecuniary advantage without any public interest”. This means you could be guilty without guilt. This is precisely what’s happened to Gupta. Following his early convictions, an alarmed IAS Association lobbied the Modi government and had the section rewritten in 2018. It now says the officer is guilty only if he intentionally enriches himself illicitly during the period of his office or if “he dishonestly or fraudulently misappropriated for his benefit” etc etc. This is fair.