Apex court takes exception to CBI's ways in 2G case

The Supreme Court has taken exception to the Central Bureau of Investigation's submission that senior counsel K.K. Venugopal will no longer represent it in the 2G spectrum case, as also the large attendance of its officers in the courtroom.

The court did not take kindly to the probe agency's joint director Ashok Tiwari telling counsel Gopal Shankar Narayan that Venugopal won't appear for CBI in the ongoing case on allegations that its chief Ranjit Sinha was interfering in the probe.

Chief Justice H.L. Dattu expressed this after Venugopal informed the court that he has been advised by the CBI Thursday not to represent the agency in this case. The senior counsel said he was informed about this by Narayan, who is assisting him on the 2G case.

As Tiwari sought to clear the position that Venugopal represents CBI in the 2G cases and would continue to do so, the court asked why he (Tiwari) was present in the court and if he was mouthpiece of Sinha.

The court also did not take well to the presence of a large number of CBI officers in the courtroom, and enquired about the reason for their attendance.

When senior counsel Vikas Singh, representing Sinha, sought to justify this, saying they were assisting the court in giving clarifications on files, if any, Chief Justice Dattu said: "We have not called them. If we need any clarification, we will call them."

The chief justice then directed all the officers to vacate and attend to their work.