SC raps Sibal over 2G talk

Union Communications & IT Minister Kapil Sibal came under fire from the Supreme Court today for his remarks against the comptroller & auditor general (CAG) report on the notional revenue loss on 2G spectrum allocation and imposition of fines to legitimise the irregularities.

“It is unfortunate. The minister should behave with some sense of responsibility,” the bench of Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said while hearing a petition moved by Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swamy.

In its order, the court clarified that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to which it had earlier referred the scam for investigation, should proceed without being influenced by the remarks of the minister.

“In our opinion, the CBI, which is conducting investigation into the 2G scam, is expected to carry out the probe without being influenced by the statement made by anybody, anywhere, including the press,” the bench said. This is what Swamy sought in his petition.

Last fortnight, Sibal had stated, “We respect CAG, but we are also extremely pained at the methodology adopted by CAG in coming to some figures, which have no basis whatsoever. The figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, with the greatest respect to the CAG, is so utterly erroneous.”

The bench also issued notices to 11 firms granted telecom licences, though they were found ineligible. They are: Etisalat, Uninor, Loop Telecom, Videocon, S-Tel, Allianz Infra, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices, Sistema Shyam Teleservices, Dishnet Wireless and Vodafone-Essar.

Swamy has alleged in the petition that the telecom ministry was collecting meagre penalties from the 11 telecom companies awarded 2G licences and spectrum in 2008 by then minister A Raja. Swamy has also alleged that by adopting this method, the government was legitimising the illegality committed by Raja and creating rights in favour of the telecom operators.

Upon pressing this argument, the court allowed Swamy to file an application seeking to restrain the department of telecommunications from accepting penalties. The court also sought a reply from sectoral regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for not taking action against telecom operators that had failed to meet their network rollout obligations.

In his petition, Swamy had said: “The telecom minister has criticised the approach of the CAG in estimating the loss to the nation by illegally awarding licences and the allocation of 2G spectrum in a manner tantamount to ridiculing the CAG. He has even gone to the extent of issuing a veiled warning of breach of secrecy on the part of the CAG, thereby intending to overawe an institution, constitutionally empowered to oversee the finances of the government.”

The court will take up the matter after replies from the operators on February 1.