New Delhi: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the stock scam and United Trust of India (UTI) muddle may summon External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, who was Finance Minister during the scam and the mutual fund fiasco in 2001, to depose before it.

"I have asked the members to submit questions, which would be sent to Sinha on behalf of JPC for getting his written answers and based on his submission the former Finance Minister may be asked to depose before the committee," JPC chairman Shriprakash Mani Tripati told reporters.

The JPC had adopted this procedure all along and would continue to do so in case of Sinha, he said adding the committee has not taken any decision on summoning Sinha so far. A decision on this would be taken on the basis of his written submission.

To a question if it was true that JPC had completed depositions and that now it was at the drafting stage, Tripati said "it is true that we had completed the deposition but now we find certain gaps for which we have decided to summon two or three persons."

Deposition and drafting will now go on simultaneously, he said adding a top Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) official has been asked to depose before JPC on Sept 16.

Admitting there were some differences among members of JPC on whether Sinha should be summoned straight away without asking him to first make a written submission, Tripati said JPC finally decided that it would deviate from the procedure and hence decided that "same procedure will be followed in case of Sinha as well."

There was no cancellation of JPC meeting on this score as reported in the media, Tripati said adding yesterday's meeting was not a meeting of full JPC. So all members did not attend, he said.

PTI