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Senior advocates in the 2G case are also preparing their next move, anticipating CBI action. CBI registered a preliminary inquiry against A K Singh and Sanjay Chandra over an alleged collusion after it received an audio CD of their conversation. The voice, alleged to be Singh’s, was heard advising a person, who CBI believes sounded like Chandra, on the ongoing 2G trial, revealing prosecution strategy. Both Singh and Chandra have denied any involvement in the matter.
Supreme Court, on November 23, 2011, at the time of granting bail to Chandra and four other 2G accused, including Reliance Telecom officials Hari Nair, Surendra Pipara, and Gautam Doshi, and Swan Telecom Director Vinod Goenka, had put a condition to the bail that lawyers are revisiting now. A bench of judges
G S Singhvi and H L Dattu had said: “The appellants should not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him to disclose such facts to the court or to any other authority.”
The SC order granted CBI the liberty to seek modification or recall its order “if for any reason (CBI found that) the appellants violated any of the conditions imposed.”
Senior advocate Aman Lekhi said the talk of cancelling bail was premature. However, presuming the tapes were genuine, he said: “CBI could file an application on the grounds the bail conditions have been violated. It will also have to prove the complicity of the prosecutor led to softening of the case.”
While CBI has sent the tape for a forensic investigation, the contents of the tape suggest Singh was advising Chandra on how to go about the examination of the witnesses. Singh was also saying how he had kept one of CBI’s key witnesses A K Srivastava, deputy director general, Department of Telecommunication (DoT), quiet. With reference to the DoT report on eligibility, Singh was heard saying it could be interpreted in various ways and it would ultimately work in Chandra’s favour.
CBI could also expand the scope of its investigations and probe Singh about the other 2G accused he colluded with, especially DB Realty promoter Shahid Balwa, a source dealing with the case said. Singh told Chandra about how he felt Balwa was spoiling the case for himself and everyone else and how he had tried to make him understand things. “Hazaar baar usko (Balwa) samjha chuka hoon,” he said.
