26 Nov 2002

JAYA JAITLEY DOES "TEHELKA" ON TEHELKA

From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: Samta Party leader Jaya Jaitley has done a "Tehelka" on the tehelka.com company to expose how its lawyer had planted his own associate as the Vekataswami Commission's counsel to collude and subvert the inquiry and compromise its integrity.

Tehelka had caught her on hidden video camera in her office at the residence of Defence Minister George Fernandes to allege role in fixing defence deals and now she has used the same method to pose as a party from Dubai to trap two lawyers, both Siddharths, acting in tandem to make mockery of the Inquiry Commission.

She unearthed the fraud perpetrated by lawyers from the same law firm "Luthra & Associates" appearing for Tehelka as well as advising and acting on behalf of the Commission.

Jaya Jaitley said she had become suspicious of conduct of a Commission's lawyer trying to go out of way to help Tehelka and she had all evidence to expose the fraud one-and-a-half month ago in September but she did not speak out lest she is accused of trying to sabotage the inquiry.

She, however, chose to go public on Tuesday since she said in any case the Congress and Tehelka had already derailed the inquiry by casting aspersions on Justice Venkataswami, a retired Supreme Court judge, to force him to resign.

To cut short the story, she used E-mails to expose that Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, who was brought in as one of the Commission's lawyers by Senior Advocate Gopal Subramaniam, actually worked with Siddharth Luthra in the same firm and both acted in tandem to save and protect Tehelka at every step of the inquiry.

A stunned Gopal declined to react immediately, wanting to study the material released by Jaya Jaitley and also wanting to consult Justice Venkataswami, but promised to make comments at 8 PM.

His lawyer friends were, however, quick at the job phoning newspapers to point out that there was nothing unethical for lawyers of a same firm representing opposite parties as they were not employees of any firm. They, however, could not comment when told that Jaya Jaitley wanted to know whether the Commission and litigants were told the fact that the lawyer assisting the Commission was an active associate of the firm and lawyer representing the accused Tehelka.com.

Releasing the telltale E-mails at a Press conference she called after suffering in silence for 20 months since after the Tehelka expose, Jaya Jaitley said she wants to raise the question of propriety in this racket to the Congress and Tehelka that had been raising the issue of propriety in Justice Venkataswami being given another job and alleging that it was to influence the Inquiry Commission.

In fact, they had cast aspersions on then Supreme Court Chief Justice S P Bharucha who had recommended Venkataswami's name for another job, she said and wanted to know if it were not impropriety and unethical to hide the fact that the same lawyers' firm represented both the accused (Tehelka) and the prosecution.

Asked what does she want, Jaya Jaitley said she was only revealing the "truth" and let all to interpret as they want. She would have brought it before the Inquiry Commission but for the sudden resignation of its chairman Justice Venkataswami in view of the Congress questioning his integrity.

She became suspicious of Commission counsel Siddharth Aggarwal when he asked helpful questions to Tehelka people during cross-examination and came to their rescue when she wanted them to reveal who had supplied the callgirls for their expose and who had paid money for this.

And, so she got Aggarwal's phone number and got a call made to his house. He was not there and his father Vijay Aggarwal, a doctor, responded. The father was told that the caller represents a Dubai party which wants to set up a cancer hospital near Gurgaon in Haryana and wants consultations. He advised that better talk to his lawyer son and gave son's E-mail address.

Posing as Anurag Sharma (anuragsharma@consultant.com), head of the India Desk of May & Co., Solicitors and Consultants, Dubai (UAE), Jaya sent out the E-mail to Siddharth Aggarwal on August 10, stating that their client Mr Walter Moraes, Ferrofab LLC, Dubai, has been provided his name and contact him under instructions of Moraes.

Stating his client's interest in setting up a cancer hospital near Gurgaon, Anurag wanted to know "whether Luthra Associates takes up assignments such as the present one, details of any such projects undertaken, the profile of Luthra Associates including its partners and associates and their respective areas of specialisation."

The first mail went out to siddharth_a@hotmail.com and the reply came from Siddharth Luthra, the Tehelka lawyer, three days later on August 13 and so the next E-mail of Anurag went out to sluthra@del6.vsnl.net.in offering an advance payment of US $1500 for the iitial bit of work and wanting to know the mode of payment. Luthra was too happy to provide his firm's profile like who were partners, who were associates and what kind of litigations it undertook and the corporate work done.

And, then flowed mails that went on in September, October and November. Both Luthra wanted to know when Anurag was coming to India. He did not get the reply and he must have found out that none of the firms mentioned existed in Dubai as he sent out viruses in three E-mails, Jaya pointed out.

She said the Congress had suddenly questioned the propriety in giving second appointment to Justice Venkataswami only to sabotage the Inquiry Commission which would have proved her not guilty.

Jaya Jaitley said she had faith in the judge to be a fair man and she was to move him once again to get a forensic examination of the tapes to verify if they were originals as shot or modified and doctored.

Repeatedly asked why she maintained silence about the lawyers' fraud all this time instead of bringing it to light when the Inquiry Commission was functioning, Jaya Jaitley quipped: "My truth does not become wrong only because I am saying it now." END