New Delhi: It's been labelled the biggest scam in India's history. The loss to the national exchequer is pegged by the government auditor at a mind-boggling Rs. 1.76 lakh crore. The 2G scam has already seen a Cabinet minister, an MP and some of the biggest names in the telecom industry going to jail.
Now, a Delhi court is expected to pronounce today its order on framing of charges against 17 accused in the 2G scam, including former telecom minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi. Will the report of a telecom regulatory body that it is not possible to quantify loss in the case and that it had not recommended auction of spectrum carry weight in court?
Special CBI judge O. P. Saini, who heard arguments on behalf of the accused and the CBI for over a month on day-to-day basis, had reserved order on August 29.
Winding up arguments, special CBI Prosecutor U. U. Lalit had said that there was "sufficient prima facie" evidence against all the accused to proceed with the trial as everyone of them was part of the conspiracy and the intent to commit offence "may be inferred from their knowledge".
On the other hand, all the accused, including Mr. Raja, opposed the framing of charges and the plea of the CBI that they caused a loss of over Rs. 30,000 crore to the state exchequer in the grant of spectrum licenses. The counsel for Mr. Raja and others had submitted that the case did not withstand legal scrutiny as the Prime Minister and the present Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal were on record that the state did not incur any loss.
And then came a major setback for the CBI. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in court that it had never recommended an auction for the 2G spectrum and that it was not possible to quantify losses.
The accused are expected to insist that the TRAI report be considered before and order is delivered.
Mr. Raja has also said that he may seek to examine the Prime Minister as a witness to prove that there was no loss.
Besides Mr. Raja and Ms. Kanimozhi, other accused include former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura, Mr. Raja's former personal secretary R K Chandolia, DMK-run Kalaignar TV's MD Sarath Kumar, Bollywood filmmaker Karim Morani and Reliance ADAG executives Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara.
The accused also included Unitech Ltd's MD Sanjay Chandra, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka and directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal.
In April, the CBI told the court that Unitech "fraudulently concealed critical information" to disguise the fact that it was ineligible for a license. Swan, on the other hand, is described as a front for Reliance. The chargesheet said Swan was set up "out of the funds of Reliance" to allow Mr Ambani's company to access more spectrum and resources than was legally allowed for a single company. (Read: 2G chargesheet accuses Swan, Unitech and ADAG of conspiracy)
But the Law Ministry gave its opinion that Swan cannot be termed an associate of Reliance. The Central Board of Direct Taxes says Swan and Unitech never sold their licenses to their foreign parter and that the sale of equity was above board. This too has been endorsed by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
Equally interesting is the CBI's own admission that it has found no money trail in case of Unitech and that there's no proof of any quid pro quo involving the Reliance officials either.
Now, a Delhi court is expected to pronounce today its order on framing of charges against 17 accused in the 2G scam, including former telecom minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi. Will the report of a telecom regulatory body that it is not possible to quantify loss in the case and that it had not recommended auction of spectrum carry weight in court?
Special CBI judge O. P. Saini, who heard arguments on behalf of the accused and the CBI for over a month on day-to-day basis, had reserved order on August 29.
Winding up arguments, special CBI Prosecutor U. U. Lalit had said that there was "sufficient prima facie" evidence against all the accused to proceed with the trial as everyone of them was part of the conspiracy and the intent to commit offence "may be inferred from their knowledge".
On the other hand, all the accused, including Mr. Raja, opposed the framing of charges and the plea of the CBI that they caused a loss of over Rs. 30,000 crore to the state exchequer in the grant of spectrum licenses. The counsel for Mr. Raja and others had submitted that the case did not withstand legal scrutiny as the Prime Minister and the present Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal were on record that the state did not incur any loss.
And then came a major setback for the CBI. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in court that it had never recommended an auction for the 2G spectrum and that it was not possible to quantify losses.
The accused are expected to insist that the TRAI report be considered before and order is delivered.
Mr. Raja has also said that he may seek to examine the Prime Minister as a witness to prove that there was no loss.
Besides Mr. Raja and Ms. Kanimozhi, other accused include former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura, Mr. Raja's former personal secretary R K Chandolia, DMK-run Kalaignar TV's MD Sarath Kumar, Bollywood filmmaker Karim Morani and Reliance ADAG executives Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara.
The accused also included Unitech Ltd's MD Sanjay Chandra, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka and directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal.
In April, the CBI told the court that Unitech "fraudulently concealed critical information" to disguise the fact that it was ineligible for a license. Swan, on the other hand, is described as a front for Reliance. The chargesheet said Swan was set up "out of the funds of Reliance" to allow Mr Ambani's company to access more spectrum and resources than was legally allowed for a single company. (Read: 2G chargesheet accuses Swan, Unitech and ADAG of conspiracy)
But the Law Ministry gave its opinion that Swan cannot be termed an associate of Reliance. The Central Board of Direct Taxes says Swan and Unitech never sold their licenses to their foreign parter and that the sale of equity was above board. This too has been endorsed by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
Equally interesting is the CBI's own admission that it has found no money trail in case of Unitech and that there's no proof of any quid pro quo involving the Reliance officials either.
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