CBI seeks legal view on fresh FIR

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is seeking legal opinion on whether it needs to register a fresh First Information Report (FIR) for the irregularities committed in the grant of 2G licences from 2001 to 2006-07.

According to the Supreme Court’s directive, the CBI is supposed to register a case with particular emphasis on the loss caused to the public exchequer and also corresponding gain to the licensee and service providers in the grant of licences.

A senior CBI official said, “We are studying if the matter can be clubbed with the existing FIR. We are doing the legal examination. The matter will be expedited”.

The Supreme Court in its order had categorically asked the CBI to investigate and register a case on the allowance of the use of dual or alternative technology by some service providers even before the decision was made public on October 19, 2007.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had noted the allocation of dual technology by the ministry to companies — which include Reliance Communication and two others — before the publication of the notice in its audit report filed in November 2010.

The CBI officials are discussing if there is a need to have a fresh or additional FIR registered for the case such that it enables them to carry on with the investigations as per the orders of the Supreme Court. The present FIR has been registered in the name of unknown officials of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and unknown private persons or companies and others for offence under Section 120B IPC read with Section 13(2) and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The FIR was registered after the Central Vigilance Commission had conducted an inquiry in 2009 into the allocation of the 2G spectrum and found grave irregularities. A copy of the report prepared on the basis of the inquiry was sent to the CBI to investigate into the matter to establish the criminal conspiracy in the allocation of 2G spectrum under the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) policy of the DoT.