Additional spectrum: Hearing against Mittal, Ruia on Jan 12

CBI Judge O P Saini fixes date after counsel for accused says Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on pleas filed by Mittal and Ruia

p The special 2G court today fixed January 12 for hearing a corruption case related to allocation of additional spectrum during NDA rule in 2002 in which Bharti Cellular CMD Sunil Mittal, Essar Group promoter Ravi Ruia and others have been summoned as accused.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini fixed the matter for January 12 after the counsel appearing for accused said that Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on the pleas filed by Mittal and Ruia challenging the March 19, 2013 order of trial court summoning them as accused in the case.

The apex court, in its April 26 last year interim order, had said that hearing against Mittal and Ruia in the case will remain "postponed" in the trial court until further orders.

Mittal, Ruia and Canada-based NRI Asim Ghosh, who was then a Managing Director of accused firm Hutchison Max Telecom Pvt Ltd, were summoned as accused by the trial court.

The court had also summoned former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh, who was named by CBI in the charge sheet as accused in the case along with three telecom firms.

Mittal, Ruia and Asim Ghosh were not named as accused in CBI's charge sheet filed on December 21, 2012 but the court had summoned them as accused while taking cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the agency.

Besides Shyamal Ghosh, three telecom firms Bharti Cellular Ltd, Hutchison Max Telecom Pvt Ltd (now known as Vodafone India Ltd) and Sterling Cellular Ltd (now known as Vodafone Mobile Service Ltd) were also named as accused in the CBI's charge sheet.

CBI, in its charge sheet, had named Shyamal Ghosh and the three telecom companies as accused in the case relating to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) allocating additional spectrum which had allegedly resulted in a loss of Rs 846 crore to the exchequer.

In the 57-page charge sheet, CBI has booked Shyamal Ghosh and the three firms for the offences of criminal conspiracy (120-B) of the IPC and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.