‘Merely attending meetings is not a criminal act'

Following are some of the interesting observations made by the special CBI judge, Mr O.P. Saini :

“A decision taken by a public servant does not become criminal for simple reason that it has caused loss to the public exchequer or resulted in pecuniary advantage to others.”

“Merely attending meetings and taking decisions therein is not a criminal act. It must have the taint of use of corrupt or illegal means or abuse of his official position by public servant for obtaining pecuniary advantage by him for himself or for any other person.”

“There is no evidence on record to suggest that there was an agreement between him (Mr P. Chidambaram) and Mr A. Raja to subvert telecom policy and obtain pecuniary advantage for himself or for any other person.”

“One cannot be held guilty merely by association with a decision and a decision by itself does not indicate criminality. There must be something more than mere association. Innocent and innocuous acts done in association with others do not make one a partner in crime, unless there is material to indicate otherwise, which is lacking in this case.”