SC directs CBI to probe Radia tapes, asks it to submit report within two months

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate fourteen conversations that corporate lobbyist Nira Radia had with various people, and asked the investigating agency to submit its report on the matter to the court within two months.

The apex court has set the next date of hearing for December 17.

"Today the Supreme Court has directed the CBI and the team, which was investigating the 2-G case, to also investigate about 14 cases of prima facie corruption and criminal offenses, which are appearing from the conversation which Nira Radia had with various people," advocate Prashant Bhushan told media here today.

"The team has been asked to give its report to the court within two months. The court has also constituted a team of income tax officials to transcribe the remaining conversations, which have not yet been examined of Nira Radia, which had been tapped by the income tax department. The income tax department is to prepare the transcripts and submit the report to the court within two months," he added.

Bhushan further said that the court had rejected CBI's plea on some case being investigated by the local police, and said that these are all cases involving serious corruption crimes in which large corporates have conspired with senior public officials, and therefore all these matters must be investigated under the supervision of the court by the same team.

The Income Tax Department in 2008-09 had tapped Radia's phone lines, and recorded conversations between Radia and politicians, journalists, businessmen, and corporate houses, in the 2-G spectrum allocation scam.