Who leaked Dhingra Commission report and why?

Only two entities could have leaked parts of the Dhingra Commission report – the Commission itself or the Government, said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Friday.

He would not be surprised, he said, if a petty, vindictive and deliberately blind government chose to leak half-truths regarding alleged irregularities committed by Robert Vadra or his spouse Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in purchasing and selling land in Haryana.

Refusing to speculate on who would have leaked it, Singhvi pointed out that in two separate orders dated November 23 and April 26 this year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had reiterated that the injunction against publication of the report stands.

Technically, by publishing a part of the report, the publications were guilty of contempt of court, he added. It was, of course, for the government to investigate and report to the court who leaked it or how it was leaked.

“You have a selective, opportunistic, planted leaks to what is known as 'damnation by innuendo and insinuation' with the Court injunction operating and a statement of the Advocate General of Haryana committing to the High Court that there would be no leak. So, how is it in public domain?” he asked.

The injunction was granted by the High Court because no notice was ever sent to Robert Vadra by the Commission. Under which rule and under what law can a report damn a person without even hearing him?

Again, the then chief minister of Haryana BS Hooda was never served what is known as the 8B Notice. A Commission of Inquiry or a Judge cannot record anything against anyone without serving such a notice, Singhvi explained. But no such notice was sent.

Hooda, in fact, wrote to Justice Dhingra saying that he had not received the 8B Notice. And the Commission replied in writing that it did not intend to send him any such notice.

“Remember the good old cases – the names of these cases are very interesting. Two main cases are ‘LK Advani versus Union of India’ and ‘Ms Kiran Bedi versus Union of India’. One was always BJP, the other has become BJP,” he declared.

“Those two cases hold the principle and without the 8B Notice, you can't hold any Commission of Inquiry,” Singhvi went on to add.