New Delhi: The Supreme Court said on Thursday it would hear any party likely to be affected by a public interest litigation before it is heard.
A bench comprising justices T.S. Thakur and Kurian Joseph said, “The least we can is (ensure that we) hear him—anyone likely to be affected by these proceedings.., lest we say something that affects someone.”
The court is considering a PIL seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)-led or a special investigation team probe into documents that allegedly revealed that the company had exchanged sensitive documents, favours and information.
The court allowed a journalist to file her response in the case, who said that she had lost her job because of the documents that came to light. Salman Khurshid, who represented this journalist, told the court that she was ready for an separate inquiry to prove her innocence.
The Essar group, in its response to the PIL, said these were “normal courtesies” extended to people, lawyer Prashant Bhushan told the court. Bhushan represents the petitioner Centre for Public Interest Litigation, a non-profit organisation.
The government and the CBI were also granted more time to file their responses. The court had issued notices to them on 23 March, but they are yet to respond in the case.
The documents comprised internal Essar e-mails pertaining to transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s stay on an Essar yacht in 2013 when he was not a minister and not the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. It also contained e-mails about reporters in various publications asking for and receiving favours from Essar.
