SC wants 2G probe from 2001

CBI searches Raja’s residence; emboldened Congress takes on BJP.

In a move that would strengthen the hand of the UPA government at the Centre, the Supreme Court today said the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) probe into the 2G scam should also cover the events of 2001, when the NDA alliance led by the BJP was in power.

At the same time, the noose around former telecom minister A Raja appeared to be tightening, as CBI searched his New Delhi and Perambalur residences. Raja was also questioned by agency officials. CBI conducted searches at 12 other premises, including those belonging to a former aide and former business partner, in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu. The agency claimed to have found incriminating documents.

No arrests had been made at the time of going to press.

An emboldened Congress, which leads the UPA and has been on the defensive since the 2G fracas put Parliament in limbo, unleashed its first attack on the Opposition BJP, questioning the decision of Pramod Mahajan, who was telecom minister during the NDA’s tenure, to allot 1.8 MHz spectrum to mobile operators for 1 per cent of the gross income.

According to the Congress, this caused a loss of Rs 65,000 crore to the exchequer. It also questioned why Arun Shourie, who succeeded Mahajan, reduced the licence fee for mobile operators.

“We want to know if these decisions were taken in (the) public interest or corporate interest,” Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said. The Congress is understood to have asked current Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal to prepare documents to expose the policy loopholes of the NDA regime.

Opposition parties, on their part, are gearing up for street protests and other agitations to press for a joint parliamentary committee to probe the scam. The government has so far resisted this demand.

According to CBI officers, Raja may be called for formal questioning. They are, however, tight-lipped on investigating corporate lobbyist Niira Radia's role in the case. Radia was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate, but has not yet been questioned by CBI.

Other than Raja, CBI searched the premises of his personal secretary, R K Chandolia, former secretary to the department of telecommunications Siddhartha Behuria and three others.

Meanwhile, the stormy two-week-long hearing of the petition on the 2G scam in the Supreme Court ended today. But even on the last day, the judges raised questions that remain to be answered. The order of the court will be delivered by the bench in a few days.

The petition seeks monitoring of the investigation by the court. However, the impending order will decide who will investigate, how to monitor progress and other facets of the scam. The court has not dealt with such issues since the hawala case more than 10 years ago.

The bench consisting of Justice G S Singhvi and Justice A K Ganguly observed during the arguments that CBI should look into the NDA’s first-come-first-served policy for allocating spectrum in 2001. Now, Raja stands accused of gifting valuable spectrum at low prices to select companies in 2008, allegedly causing a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore. But he followed the same policy.

"The issue raised in the case is not only limited to Rs 1.76 lakh crore, but has a much wider compass. We would not like to prejudice the probe. But, what happened in 2001 needs to be looked into. It is for the CBI to investigate and find out," said the judges.

The court also suggested that the central government consider setting up a special court to deal with the scam as its magnitude was vast. "Unless the government is prepared to create a special court, the purpose will not be served. It is the need of the hour, we must have exclusive courts to deal with these offences," the bench observed.

The court was also "astonished" to learn that public sector banks provided loans of up to Rs 10,000 crore to 2G spectrum licensees, which included some real estate firms, on the basis of hypothecation of their licences.