Taj case: Govt tells CBI not to ignore A-G's opinion

NEW DELHI: The government has advised the CBI to give "full weightage" to the opinion of Attorney-General Milon Bannerjee, who has said that it is difficult to establish the involvement of BSP chief Mayawati in the politically sensitive Taj heritage case.
The "advisory" from the highest level comes in the wake of CBI''s reluctance to let Mayawati off the hook in the case.The dominant view in the agency favours going ahead with the prosecution of the former UP CM, who has been accused of encouraging a breach of law, which prohibits any construction in the vicinity of the Taj.
When contacted, CBI director US Mishra said, "We have put the facts before the Supreme Court and are awaiting the apex court''s final orders to decide whether to file a closure report."
Top CBI sources said the director of the prosecution, SK Sharma, is the only one in the ranks to feel that it would be difficult to prove Mayawati''s culpability in the case. The A-G, incidentally, had relied on Sharma''s notes to form his opinion.
Banerjee had also referred to the opinion of OP Verma, a senior official with the law ministry. But sources said even the opinion note prepared by Verma was based on Sharma''s assessment of the case. The case was forwarded to the A-G''s office through the law ministry.
The CBI has, meanwhile, placed all facts before the SC. The case was supposed to come up for hearing on January 24, but CBI officials said they are awaiting a new date.