Cut-off date changed to favour Unitech: CBI to A Raja

Former Telecom Minister A Raja was today grilled by the CBI before a Delhi court with the agency alleging that the decision to advance cut-off date for accepting the applications for grant of 2G spectrum licences was taken to "favour" Unitech, a charge refuted by him.
"It is incorrect," Raja told Special CBI Judge O P Saini after special public prosecutor U U Lalit questioned him that "this decision (to change cut-off date) of yours was taken to favour Unitech applications in particular."
This assumes significance as the CBI had alleged in its charge sheet that in order to favour Unitech and Swan Telecom, Raja unilaterally advanced the cut-off date for accepting the applications for grant of 2G licences and ignored various authorities including Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Law Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.

On being asked about the decision to change cut-off date to September 25, 2007 from October one, 2007, Raja, who is deposing as a witness to defend himself in the ongoing trial in 2G case, told the court that this date was finalised after deliberations which took place in the Department of Telecommunication (DoT).
"The decision taken by you to change the cut-off date to September 25, 2007 was without any reason on the file or coming from any of the papers appended to the file?," Lalit contended.
Responding to this, Raja said, "It is incorrect."

"I was of the opinion to issue LOIs (letters of intent) to all 575 applications. However, this date was arrived on the basis of the deliberations which took place in the department under the context of policy documents mentioned as above in my statement," he said.

Raja, whose recording of statement would continue tomorrow, also told the court that the cut-off date of October 1, 2007, was meant for receiving applications for grant of licences while the cut-off date of September 25, 2007 was for processing these applications as decided by the DoT.
The CBI, in its charge sheet filed on April 2, 2011, had alleged that, "The investigation has revealed that even though this cut-off date of October 1 had been announced, accused Raja, in conspiracy with other accused, had already taken a view to keep the cut-off date as September 25."
Raja and others, including Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra, are facing trial in the case. Unitech Wireless(Tamil Nadu) Pvt Ltd is also one of the three companies accused in the case.