Ravi Ruia moves SC challenging 2G court order

SC had directed a CBI court to postpone its summons to Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal until April 16

Ravi Ruia, vice-chairman of Essar Group, today filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the order of the 2G Special Court summoning him in a case related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum during the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance regime in 2002.

Ruia’s move comes a day after the SC, on Monday, has directed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court to postpone its summons to Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal until April 16.

According to sources, Ruia mentioned in his petition that the only basis for summoning Ruia was that since he had chaired some of the meetings of Sterling Cellular Ltd, he was thus the ‘alter-ego’ and ‘directing mind of the will’ of the Company i.e. Sterling Cellular Ltd.

Ruia held no executive position in Sterling Cellular Ltd and the Essar Group was only a minority shareholder of Sterling Cellular Ltd, it added.

Such a basis where any Director is held liable for the acts of the company is contrary to the well-established legal position.

The petition also added that Ruia has not been named in the Chargesheet and neither was he ever investigated in regard with this matter. If the true and corrects facts pertaining to the affairs of Sterling Cellular Ltd were before the CBI/Court such an order summoning Ruia may not have been passed, it further added.

Ruia declined comments on the issue.

Ruia was summoned by the court on April 11 as an accused along with Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, Asim Ghosh, the former head of Vodafone-Essar; and former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh.

On March 19, the CBI Special Court took cognizance of the CBI chargesheet, and judge O P Saini in his order said that Mittal, Ruia and Ghosh were the “alter ego” of their respective companies.

“The acts of the companies are to be attributed and imputed to them. I find enough material on record to proceed against them also.” Saini also said that they represented “the directing mind and will of each company” and their state of mind was the state of mind of the companies.

Mittal moved the Supreme Court on April 1 for quashing the order against him.

Meanwhile, Citing its failure to find any private individual in the criminal conspiracy, the CBI had in its chargesheet of December 21, 2012, only named Shyamal Ghosh, the then telecom secretary, and three private companies including Bharti Cellular (now Bharti Airtel), Hutchison Max (now Vodafone), and Sterling Cellular (now Vodafone) as accused.