CBI is withholding documents: Shahid Balwa

Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, arrested for his alleged involvement in 2G spectrum allocation scam, today accused CBI of withholding various documents favouring him.

Balwa's counsel Vijay Aggarwal made this submission to Special CBI Judge O P Saini while pleading for his direction to CBI to further probe the case and ascertain why certain documents, favouring his client, were not supplied to it. He also pleaded to the court to monitor the probe.

"CBI is having those documents (which I have supplied to them during the investigation) but, as the documents are favouring the accused, the agency is deliberately withholding them and are not producing them before the court," said Aggarwal.

He said the probe agency is not permitted to exclude the evidence collected during investigation of the case.

"My prayer to the court is not for registration of an FIR but for monitoring the investigation (by the court) done by CBI," he said.

Opposing Balwa's plea, CBI prosecutor A K Singh said the application filed by him is not maintainable.

"This court is empowered to direct police to register an FIR and investigate the case. But it is not empowered to issue directions to CBI to further investigate the case," he said.