The Home Ministry has ordered the withdrawal of FIRs filed against one of Home Minister P. Chidambaram's former clients, a Delhi-based businessman. The ministry, citing "public interest", has asked the Delhi Government to withdraw the three FIRs registered in Connaught Place and Defence Colony police stations.

These FIRs against S.P. Gupta involve charges of allegedly defrauding VLS Finance, forging letterheads of MPs and misusing the name of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Chidambaram had allegedly appeared for Gupta against VLS Finance in court. After failing to get relief for his client, Chidambaram is now using executive powers to quash the FIRs, according to allegations made before the Prime Minister's Office on December 10 by Yashvir Singh, a Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha MP from Nagina in Uttar Pradesh.

The decision to withdraw cases is taken at a time when the chargesheets have already been filed in the court. Gupta, the chairman of Sunair Hotels, had made various representations to the Home Ministry including one on February 8, 2011 to quash FIRs saying the chargesheets filed by the Delhi police are based on improper probe.

The Home Ministry argues it had only forwarded advice given by the Legal Affairs Cell of the Law Ministry. "We clarify that no decision was taken on the case in the Home Affairs Ministry, and only the opinion of the Ministry of Law was conveyed to the Delhi Government," notes Gopal Reddy, joint secretary in the Home Ministry, in a reply to India Today's questionnaire addressed to the Home Minister. Defending Chidambaram on charges of appearing for Gupta as a lawyer, he said, "The Home Minister has not appeared in courts since May 2004. He is unable to recall at this distance of time whether he appeared in a case concerning Gupta before 2004."

Harsh Allagh, the Vice-President of VLS Finance, argues that the Home Ministry misinterpreted the opinion of the Law Ministry. "The Law Ministry never said that FIRs can be withdrawn. It, in fact, cautioned against it and said that the only option left to it was to use Section 321 of the CrPC," says Allagh. The Legal Affairs Department wrote back to the Home Ministry on March 18 and April 20 saying "as the courts are not generally interfering during the course of investigation, it would not be appropriate to take steps as requested by Gupta in his representations. Moreover, from the status report submitted by the Delhi Police, it was observed that chargesheets and supplementary chargesheets have already been filed by the Delhi police in courts and the three cases are at various stages of investigation".

The department also suggested that the only available option is to invoke the section of the CrPC vested with the Government where "the paramount consideration in such cases is the administration of justice".

Despite the caution from the Law Ministry, A.K. Saxena, a director in Home Affairs, on May 9, wrote to Arvind Ray, principal secretary (Home) Delhi Government, demanding action for withdrawal of prosecution. The Home Ministry, in its reply to INDIA TODAY, says the letter was never put up to the joint secretary, the home secretary or the Home Minister. But Saxena has clearly mentioned in the letter, a copy of which is in the possession of India Today, that the decision has the approval of the Home Minister. "The Home department of the Government of Delhi should scrutinise case FIRs registered by the Delhi police for taking action under section 321 of the CrPC for withdrawal of prosecution immediately. This has the approval of the Union Home Minister," he said in the letter. Acting on the direction, G Sudhakar, joint secretary of Delhi Government Home Department, on November 23 asked the director of prosecution to move court to withdraw prosecution in the case.

On December 10, the PMO has also received a complaint from Singh, a Samajwadi Party MP, on the issue titled "sabotaging and over-reaching judiciary through executive powers by the Home Ministry with complete knowledge of the Home Minister." He raised some questions:

Is there any connection between the Home Minister and S.P. Gupta of Sunair Hotels?
While asking for the opinion of the Law Ministry, did the Home Ministry give wrong facts?
Did the Home Minister represent the accused S.P. Gupta in litigation with VLS Finance Limited?
Did the Home Ministry conclude in eight years that all the investigating and prosecuting officials in the trial court, high court and the Supreme Court were corrupt?

Managing Director of VLS Finance S.K. Aggarwal had approached the CBI complaining about the efforts being made in the Home Ministry to quash the FIRs. With the CBI failing to initiate action, he wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on June 7, 2011, "Gupta of Sunair Hotels is misguiding and misusing the Office of the Home Ministry to get the on-going criminal cases against them closed. We request you to look into the matter," he wrote.