SC notice to Raja on 2G spectrum licence issue

In a legal embarrassment for the central government, the Supreme Court today issued notices to Communications Minister A Raja, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate and the income tax department over the sale of 2G spectrum licences in 2008.

The Bench, headed by Justice G S Singhvi, gave them 10 days to respond to the petition moved by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation and a few other NGOs. They want a court-monitored investigation into the alleged scam, which resulted in an estimated loss of Rs 70,000 crore to the exchequer.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had dismissed their petitions. They moved the appeals asking the court to monitor the CBI probe into the alleged role of the minister in the sale.

Counsel Prashant Bhushan alleged that in spite of documents that showed a nexus between Raja and others, CBI was not pursuing the lead. According to him, there are tape recordings of conversations between the cabinet minister and corporate middlemen.

The Department of Telecommunications, which is under Raja, had given away 2G spectrum to 122 operators at a throwaway price of Rs 1,658 crore for pan-Indian licences on a first-come-first-served basis in January 2008. By avoiding the auction route, the decision of the department had caused huge losses to the government, according to the petitions.

The petitions also contain taped conversations allegedly indicting the minister. It is stated that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India had reported the “whole process of issuing licences lacked fairness and transparency”.

Moreover, CBI acted true to form as it abandoned a probe at the nick of time when the trail led to Indian and foreign banks. Top officers who were pursuing the leads were abruptly transferred to distant departments. According to the NGOs, CBI also denied permission to interrogate those whose voices were taped.

The Opposition had repeatedly called for Raja’s resignation, but the government, including the prime minister, said both the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Telecom Commission had approved the 2G sale.