Patel, in his capacity as Union Civil Aviation Minister during the merger, was among the key suspects in the case and had been questioned by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED).
In May 2019, ED had told a special court that “Mr Praful Patel is a dear friend” of middleman Deepak Talwar who allegedly facilitated dispersal of profit-making Air India routes to private airlines during 2008-09 using his “proximity to the minister and aviation personnel in India”.
The CBI closure report was filed by the agency on March 19 in the court of Special Judge (CBI), Rouse Avenue Court, Prashant Kumar. The court has given the date of April 15 for considering the CBI submission.
In June last year, Patel had attended an Opposition bloc meeting in Patna along with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. However, the very next month he walked out of the party with Ajit Pawar and six other leaders of the party, including Chhagan Bhujbal, and joined the NDA. The Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP is now part of the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra with Ajit Pawar as Deputy CM. The case pertains to AI-IA merger to form National Aviation Corporation of India Ltd (NACIL) which leased a high number of aircraft and purchase of 111 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing apart from allegations linked to the ceding of profitable routes to foreign airlines, corruption in the opening of training institutes with foreign investment, and Patel’s alleged ties with lobbyist Deepak Talwar who was deported from Dubai in January 2019 and arrested by ED.
To probe these issues, the CBI had registered four FIRs in the matter in May 2017 following a Supreme Court order in January that year. The closure report has been filed in the first FIR registered. The probe in other cases still continues.
In the first FIR, which lies at the heart of the case, registered in the matter on May 29, 2017, the CBI mentioned “unknown officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation” in the accused column and mentioned Patel’s name in the FIR.
“Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt. of India, under Shri Praful Patel, the then Minister of Civil Aviation by abusing position as public servant in conspiracy with private parties and other public servants of Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air India/lndian Airlines took decision with regard to leasing large number of aircraft,” the CBI’s first FIR said.
“This action was made dishonestly without due considerations regarding proper route study and marketing or price strategy. Also, the aircraft were leased even while aircraft acquisition programme was going on, in conspiracy with other unknown persons on extraneous considerations and resulted in pecuniary benefit to private companies and consequent loss to government exchequer,” the first FIR said.
Patel had denied the allegations saying that all decisions in the matter were “collective”.
This FIR has alleged that a large number of aircraft were taken on lease by NACIL. This leasing, the FIR said, was done “despite the airlines running with very low load because of large scale aircraft acquisition and several flights, especially overseas flights running almost empty at a huge loss.”
Explained
Setting stage for clean chit
The CBI’s closure report is related to the first FIR. But if accepted, it will put a question mark on the other three FIRs and the one chargesheet in the merger case. It may pave the way for Patel’s exoneration and could undermine the ED case as well.
At least 15 expensive aircraft, for which NACIL did not even have pilots, were leased “with a view to dishonestly favour private parties”, the FIR said.
It said that in 2006 the Ministry took a decision to go for dry and wet lease of aircraft without proper study or ab marketing strategy. “Air India with a view to benefit private parties dry leased four Boeing 777s for a period of five years in 2006, whereas it was to get the delivery of its own aircrafts from July, 2007 onwards. As result, five Boeing 777s and five Boeing 737s were kept idle on ground at an estimated loss of Rs 840 crores during the period of 2007-09,” the FIR said.
Notably, both CBI and ED have filed chargesheets in another FIR that pertains to the affairs of Deepak Talwar.
Incidentally, Patel is also under investigation by the ED in a money laundering case against underworld figure Iqbal Mirchi. The former union minister has been questioned by the agency in 2019 and 2021 in the case. Patel had allegedly bought properties from Mirchi, on which a building named Ceejay House was constructed in Worli. Patel has denied any wrongdoing.
-With inputs from Nirbhay Thakur