Mystery death jolts judges' scam probe

The death of Ashutosh Asthana, prime accused in the judges' expenses scam, has cast a shadow over the investigations into the case.



Asthana died under mysterious circumstances on Saturday - he was in custody at the Dasna jail in Ghaziabad.



Preliminary investigations suggest his death was due to poisoning.



Dr A. K. Singh of MMG Hospital in Ghaziabad, where he was taken after he collapsed in jail, said Asthana had probably consumed poison.



"The preliminary investigation suggests poisoning as the cause of death. But, the details will only be known after the viscera report is out," he said.



Dasna jail superintendent V. K. Singh said Asthana had collapsed on Saturday afternoon after he had tea and biscuits. " He had his morning tea with biscuits and read the morning papers. Around 12.15 pm, Asthana told some inmates that he was feeling uneasy and collapsed within minutes," Singh said.



The main scam accused was rushed to MMG hospital where doctors declared him " brought dead". The Ghaziabad Bar Association ( GBA) and advocate Nahar Singh Yadav had in 2008 filed a petition in the Supreme Court requesting a probe by an independent agency into the judges' expenses scam. Supreme Court Advocate K. C. Kaushik, who represents the GBA said the apex court will now be requested to order an independent probe and post mortem examination on Asthana.



" The main person in this case upon whose statement the investigation was being conducted is dead. The entire case will now collapse," Kaushik said.



Soon after the death, there were allegations of foul play. Legal experts believe that the success of the judges' expenses case, which is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI), hinged almost entirely on the evidence being provided by Asthana.



His relatives have demanded an independent post mortem examination. His wife Sushma Asthana, who had earlier been in custody for her alleged involvement in the case and has since been bailed out, claimed there had been a threat to his life. Asthana had earlier petitioned the local Ghaziabad court in the matter, she said.



His death has dealt a jolt to the investigations. Advocate Prashant Bhushan said Asthana himself was the "main evidence" in the case since he had personally handed over gifts to judges. With his death, the case had been weakened. "It is imperative that there should be a through probe," said Bhushan.



This newspaper had blown the lid off the judges' expenses scam. The Ghaziabad police had initiated a probe on a complaint filed by Special CBI Judge Rama Jain. This had revealed how several crores of rupees were siphoned off from the district court treasury by creating false provident fund (GPF) accounts and forging records. The illegal withdrawals from the GPF, done in connivance with the court employees, were sanctioned by district judges posted at the civil court in Ghaziabad from 2001.



Asthana had confessed before a magistrate under section 164 of CrPC (regarding the recording of confessions and statements before a judicial magistrate or a metropolitan magistrate), accusing 36 judges - including those from the high court and one judge of the Supreme Court - of benefitting from illegal withdrawals of court treasury money.



On Sunday, legal experts debated over the impact Asthana's sudden removal from the scene would have on the outcome of the case. Senior Advocate P. N. Lekhi said that since the dead cannot be cross examined, the case might collapse.



Some legal experts, however, felt differently. Retired Delhi High Court judge Justice R. S. Sodhi was of the opinion that with Asthana's death, the case will not collapse but it will definitely suffer. While Asthana's statement made under section 164 will still be admissible as evidence other corroborative evidence would be needed, he said.



According to former CBI director Joginder Singh, the very fact that Asthana had recorded his statement under section 164 should be enough to nail the culprits.



But, this has to be supported by independent evidence.



Singh believes that since the case is based on circumstantial evidence, Asthana's death will only make a " marginal difference" to the case.



According to him, the evidence will not only be established by the accused, but with documents, details on the withdrawal of money from GPF accounts and money spent, and questioning of people involved.



Agreed senior advocate Anil Divan. " The case will become much worse now but might not collapse. It is unfortunate that he wasn't taken care of. The most important thing is that proper autopsy has to be done by unimpeachable sources." he said.



A CBI spokesperson declined to comment on the developments.



The PF scam involved judicial officers so it would be inappropriate to comment, he said.



Meanwhile Asthana's brother, Shishir, alleged that the death was a conspiracy. " My brother's post mortem should be conducted outside Ghaziabad.



I don't trust these people. He cannot commit suicide. It is a conspiracy," he said." The day before he died he was alright and had a family reunion inside the jail premises. He met his children and was in a happy mood, Shishir claimed.



The judges' expenses scam involves one Supreme Court judge, 12 high court judges and 24 district judges. Three status reports have been filed before the Supreme Court, which is monitoring the case. However, they are not public and are being held in a sealed cover.