Supreme Court won't be investigated: Singgih

Supreme Court won't be investigated: Singgih

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Singgih yesterday rejected
demands that his office probe allegations of collusion in the
Supreme Court after an internal investigation clearing court
members this week failed to impress many people.

"We need strong evidence," Singgih told a hearing with House
of Representatives' Commission III on legal affairs during which
the question was posed to him.

He did not completely rule out the possibility of an
investigation, however. He said that by law, he needed permission
from President Soeharto to conduct an investigation if there was
a strong case.

Singgih said he needed strong evidence of collusion to
initiate any investigation. "If we have that, then there's no
stopping us. We'd even chase an imp if you have the evidence," he
said metaphorically.

Chief Justice Soerjono on Monday announced the results of the
Supreme Court's internal investigation into the way a panel of
justices ruled in the Gandhi Seva Loka versus Ram Gulumal case.
The investigating team said it found no evidence to support the
allegations of collusion or bribery.

Deputy Chief Justice for General Crimes Adi Andojo Soetjipto,
who first raised alarm bells, has decried the investigation's
report and called for a fresh probe.

Some members of the House's Commission III yesterday urged
Singgih to take over the investigation from the Supreme Court.

V.B. Da Costa from the Indonesian Democratic Party faction,
said the announcement by Soerjono on Monday was more of "his own
contemplation" than the result of a thorough investigation.

Soerjono said the only evidence of collusion that
investigators had was an "anonymous" letter that had been sent to
Justice Adi's home. None of the 34 people asked by investigators
could corroborate the claims in the letter, he said.

The investigation found a "violation of procedure" in the way
that the case was assigned to a panel of justices deemed to
favor the defendant. The investigators, however, said this did
not amount to a collusion.

The panel of justices, led by Samsoedin Abubakar, reversed
guilty verdicts meted out by district and high courts and
acquitted Ram, the defendant.

Ram had been locked in a legal battle against an association
of Indian residents in Jakarta over the management of the
billions of rupiah in assets of the Gandhi Memorial School in
Jakarta.

Yesterday, more respected figures in the legal community
indicated their disapproval of the Supreme Court's investigation
results.

"We respect it, but the result is far from satisfactory,"
Muladi, a law professor and rector of the state-run University of
Diponegoro in Semarang, told The Jakarta Post.

Muladi, who also sits in the National Commission on Human
Rights, also called for a fresh investigation to thoroughly clear
up the matter.

He said this time, the investigation should be conducted by an
independent body, possibly the Prosecutors' Office, an ad-hoc
committee of the People's Consultative Assembly, or both.

"The President can order both institutions to conduct the
investigation," he said.

Ramdlon Naning of the University of Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta
said the results of the investigation would discourage anyone who
has evidence of collusion in the country's legal system to come
forward in the future.

"If the Supreme Court could reject the allegation that was
made by the Deputy Chief Justice, who had come forward with such
strong evidence, then what chance of success do ordinary people
have?" asked Ramdlon, who chairs the Yogyakarta chapter of the
Indonesian Bar Association.

Many lawyers who have been complaining about illicit wheeling
and dealing involving court judges would also be reluctant to
file complaints now, he said.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation joined in the chorus,
calling for a new investigation.

Foundation chairman Bambang Widjojanto said yesterday in a
statement that any investigation must be transparent and be
followed with legal action. (har/01)