CBI director declines comment on 2G charges

He was referring to allegations that he was favouring Reliance Telecom during the ongoing trial of the 2G spectrum allocation case

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ranjit Sinha on Wednesday refused to give his side of the story on allegations he was favouring Reliance Telecom during the trial of the second-generation spectrum allocation case.

"The matter is sub judice. I don’t want to make any comment. The matter is before the Supreme Court, and we will present our side there," Sinha told Business Standard. But earlier in the day, speaking to news channel NDTV, he dismissed the allegations.

"I have met officials of Reliance but have I shown favour to anyone?" he told the channel, saying the meetings had taken place "once or twice" at his residential office, and not 50 times, as claimed by a recent media report.

The DNA newspaper reported Sinha had met the officials at his official residence at least 50 times in 15 months. Lawyer Prashant Bhushan has told the Supreme Court, monitoring the investigation related to the case, Sinha was trying to delay the trial by forcing investigators to take a different stand in the court. This way, he said, Sinha was favouring the company.

The Supreme Court will hear the matter on Thursday.