4 counters set up for LoIs as there were 4 directors: Witness

Deposing as a prosecution witness in the case, Department of Telecom's (DoT) erstwhile Member (Technology) K Sridhara said the large number of applications received by the department for Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) was also a reason for establishing four counters for distribution of LoIs in the committee room of Sanchar Bhawan here.

"It is correct that the four counters were set up for distribution of LoI's on January 10, 2008 in view of the fact that only four directors were available in the AS (Access Service) Cell and the applications were large in number," he told Special CBI Judge O P Saini during his cross examination by advocate S P Minocha, who appeared for former Telecom Secretary Sidharath Behura, an accused in the case.

The CBI, in its charge sheet, had alleged that the "ill conceived" design to set up four counters to distribute LoIs to the firms made a "mockery" of the first-come-first-served (FCFS) policy.

It had claimed that distribution of LoIs in this manner had "resulted in reshuffling of the priority of applicants" and benefited Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd and Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Pvt Ltd, both facing trial in the case.

Sridhara, whose recording of statement concluded today, had yesterday said that after going through the November 2, 2007 draft letter, written by the then telecom minister to the Prime Minister, he had told the minister at his (Raja's) residence that "contents of the same were generally correct."

He had also said that in a meeting chaired by Raja and also attended by him on November 2, 2007, it was decided that considering the availability of spectrum, discussions with various officers and to avoid legal complications, LoIs would be issued to the applications received upto September 25, 2007. (More)