Essar Tapes: Lawyer Files PIL, Demands Court-Monitored Probe

Suren Uppal also demanded security from people who may have a vested interest in destroying the tapes.

Albasit Khan, ex Essar employee and Suren Uppal, the Supreme Court lawyer and the petitioner in the Essar Tapes. (Photo: The Quint)

Supreme Court lawyer Suren Uppal submitted a Public Interest Litigation in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday. The PIL is Uppal versus top officials in Essar and Reliance, ex-Essar employee Al Basit Khan, the government of India and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Uppal has demanded a thorough court-monitored investigation into the Essar Tapes leak. He has also raised concerns about his safety and the possibility of the tapes being destroyed.

The continued possession of incriminating data and the recorded conversations with the Petitioner herein has endangered the safety and security of the Petitioner, other than his fear of the same data and records being mutilated and destroyed for the purposes of scuttling the process of law and any further investigation in the case.

PIL Extract 

Uppal filed a complaint on the Essar Tapes to the Prime Minister’s Office on 1 June. So far however, the government has not handed over the case to any investigative agency.

I waited for a few days for the government to take action. But when I found that the government was silent, I moved the High Court to order an investigation.

Suren Uppal, Petitioner

Uppal has demanded the issuance of a Habeas Corpus directing the government to produce Al Basit Khan, ex-Essar employee before a court. He added that for the purpose of securing the evidence, Khan is an important witness.

According to sources, Al Basit Khan, who is in possession of the tapes, has left the country.

Key Points From the PIL

The Essar Group headquarters in Mumbai. (Photo: Reuters)

The PIL demands that the court issue an order to examine the authenticity of the recorded conversations. If they are found to be genuine, Uppal demands that further orders be passed to investigate all those who have been found guilty of indulging in illegal and unlawful activities in connection with the case.

In addition to this, the PIL demands that the government recover any windfall profit or gain made by government officials or politicians involved with the corporates.

Uppal has also demanded court-mandated personal security from people who may have a vested interest in tampering or destroying crucial evidence until the investigation in the case is complete.

The phone-tapping and recording of phone calls, which was undertaken without any permission from concerned authorities, is an act of gross violation of telecom license regulations. As a result, this too must be probed and the guilty must be punished in accordance with the law.