The Attorney General objects to the headline in today's (Saturday's) Guardian Newspaper Anand: DPP should have told Security Council–AG queries late leak on spy device. The AG has never said that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should have informed the National Security Council about the alleged discovery of a spying device at his office in November last year. The AG queried the accuracy of the story and pointed out that there was no official confirmation of the alleged incident. He said the fact that it was leaked and published as a front page story on the third anniversary of the People's Partnership celebrations was highly suspicious as over six months have passed without any form of public disclosure.
When asked if the DPP should have reported the matter the National Security Council, the AG replied that this was not the function of the DPP and the correct procedure would have been to call the police so that the matter could be thoroughly investigated.The AG was at pains to point out that the Commissioner of Police would have been under duty to notify and brief the National Security Council about this matter because of its obvious implications for national security. The headline was incorrect and misleading as evidenced by the fact that the AG is not quoted anywhere in the article as saying that the DPP should have told the National Security Council about the incident. The headline is therefore inconsistent with the story.The AG maintains that in the absence of some official confirmation from the DPP or the Commissioner of Police, the credibility and veracity of the story remains doubtful.
Satesh C Ragoo
Ministry of the Attorney General