CBI files fresh status report in SC

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed a fresh status report in the Supreme Court on its ongoing investigation into the 2G spectrum scam allegedly involving former communications minister A Raja, responding to posers by the judges and explaining in detail the nature of the probe.

Sources said the report, filed in a sealed cover before a bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly, has given details about the probe since the registration of a case against unknown persons on October 21 last year. The agency has given “replies to the concerns of the court raised till the last hearing on Thursday”, they said.

“There are also replies to the concerns expressed by the judges on Thursday. So many comments were made by the judges and the status report will seek to clear the air,” they said.

The apex court on November 25 (Thursday) wanted to know from CBI why it had not questioned Raja and his private secretary and had said the agency was “beating around the bush” when “illegality is prima facie evident”.

The sources said the status report given to two judges in separate sealed covers explains the nature of investigation done on the basis of a massive amount of documents and several hours of tapes containing national and international trails.

“The investigation has a dimension, both in India and abroad,” they said, adding that the details have been submitted in sealed covers because any reliance on the contents in open court will gravely prejudice the investigation.

“The names of the individuals and companies associated with the scam have been investigated,” they said.

The report has made it clear that the CAG report projecting that the 2G spectrum allocation scam has caused a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the state exchequer was based on the documents submitted by CBI in 2009.

“Since then there has been much additional material which CBI is only privy to," the sources said. The first report filed by CBI to the court was returned to the agency by the bench which had asked it file a comprehensive report.

The hearing in the case will resume tomorrow.