New Delhi: Government has decided to handover to the CBI the enquiry into the Tehelka expose in which the then BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) President Bangaru Laxman was shown accepting bribe for a fictitious Defence deal and a number of Army officials were seen compromising their office.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) presided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday (Oct 21), informed sources said.

The notification is being prepared, the sources said.

The CCPA meeting was attended among others by Home Minister Shivraj Patil.

Law Minister H R Bhardwaj had a fortnight ago announced the Centre's decision to wind up the Justice S N Phukan Commission, which was probing the Tehelka expose and handover the probe to an independent agency.

The CBI had carried out an in-house analysis of the case and was awaiting the Government notification as to whether the Centre wanted it to probe only the corruption angle or investigate the possibility of a criminal conspiracy behind the Defence deals.

The Phukan Commission was scrapped on October 4 as the Government is understood to have concluded that the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) Government had "misdirected" the inquiry as it wanted to "delay" and "shield" the then Defence Minister George Fernandes.

After notification, the CBI will be handed over all the original tapes of Tehelka expose, which would be sent to Central Forensic Laboratory to establish their genuineness.

The tapes were sent for an independent examination to London, which had declared it as genuine. However, the process would have to be followed because of the legalities involved, the sources said.