2G scam: SC slams Raja for disrespecting PM

The Supreme Court today came down heavily on former Telecom Minister A Raja for "bypassing" and even "overruling" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's advice to defer the allocation of 2G spectrum by a few days.

The apex court also took strong exception to the tone and tenor of Raja's letter to the Prime Minister, saying it amounted to showing "disrespect" to the highest authority in the country.

The bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said Raja had not paid heed to the Prime Minister's letter asking him to wait for some days before taking any action on the allocation of spectrum.

Resuming hearing on the petition by NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL, on the spectrum scam, the court raised questions on Raja ignoring the Law ministry's advice seeking opinion of the AG as "out of context".

The court made the remarks after noting that the Law Minister has given an opinion that the matter be referred to the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) for seeking the opinion of the law officers like the Attorney General and Solicitor General.

"Raja first received opinion of the Law Ministry which he overruled by saying it was out of context, then he received a letter of PM on the same day asking him to wait and let me (PM) know further action you (Raja) take. That is also ignored," the court said.