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Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Justice K Venkataswami, who resigned from the Tehelka probe panel Saturday last after the opposition objected to his appointment as chairman of the Authority on Advance Ruling in Customs and Excise, said he was deeply hurt by the allegations against him.
"Of course I feel deeply hurt by the allegations" Justice Venkataswami said at a press conference at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday.
He said he had done nothing unethical by accepting the AARCE offer while he was still looking into the allegations of corruption in defence deals as head of the Tehelka probe panel. "No I do not see anything wrong in accepting the second offer. As has been made clear, this was not the first time a judge heading one commission was assigned another task," he said.
He said he had not asked for the second job and it was former chief justice of India Justice, S P Bharucha, who had sent his name to the government.
"I did not accept the post straightaway. I took one day's time to consult my wife. She said if the chief justice of India was recommending my name, I should honour his word. That is how I came to accept the second job. The government notification came in May 2002, while I gave my consent in January 2002," he said.
Justice Venkataswami said it would now be up to the new head of the Tehelka probe panel to decide whether to carry forward the work done by him or not.
"I held 181 sittings during my tenure and examined 75 witnesses and notices under section 2B. I had almost prepared the rough draft of the findings...only attorney general had to be heard. I could have finished the job in time, but this controversy arose," he said.
Thanking all who assisted him in the investigations, Justice Venkataswami said: "I got admirable support from all the concerned parties."
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