CBI files status report on 2G scam probe

SC had earlier castigated agency not questioning former telecom minister A Raja and former telecom secretary P J Thomas

PTI | November 29, 2010



The CBI today submitted to the supreme court the status report on its ongoing investigations into the 2G spectrum allocation scam allegedly involving former telecom minister A Raja.

The status report was submitted to the apex court registry in a sealed cover.

The apex court, earlier on November 25, had castigated the CBI on why it had not questioned Raja and the telecom secretary in the case, saying the agency was "beating around the bush" when "illegality is prima facie evident."

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly during the hearing had lambasted CBI for failing to examine the former minister and the telecom secretary, saying that it was the "minimum expected" of it as the criticism had come from CAG, a Constitutional authority.

"You said 8,000 documents had been examined still you are beating around the bush. It was minimum (questioning the duo) expected of the CBI," it had said.

CBI had offered to place a status report on Tuesday before the court which also took on record the CAG report placed by Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) counsel Prashant Bhushan.

"The CAG reports deserved highest respect. We are on the limited point. CAG under Constitution has a very important position. It is an authority set up under the Constitution. If such an authority set up under the constitution gives such a report, any reasonable person will question the Minister and the Secretary," it had said.

The CAG had estimated a "presumptive loss" of around Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the public exchequer due to allocation of spectrum to various allegedly ineligible telecom operators at throw away prices.

Comments

 

Other News

Cabinet approves Dearness Allowance, Dearness Relief

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.07.2026 representing an increase of 3% over the existing rates of 6

Cyclone Arnab strikes Andhra as warming oceans amplify storm risks

Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts in the early hours of Wednesday as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125–135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph. Its rapid intensification has raised concerns about how warmer oceans, global warmin

Counting matters but which ones?

The first instinct of public policy is to count. Its harder task is to count what counts. We have become remarkably good at measuring the reach of the welfare state vis-à-vis beneficiaries covered, rupees transferred, houses built, connections installed and services delivered. But some of the most

Inching closer to a trade deal with America

The cooperation between India and the United States goes back quite a time. We need to relegate that era to the backburner when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited US in the times of president Dwight Eisenhower and called the American let-off of 10 million dollars in defence aid to Pakistan as a “gun w

Manch vs Musk: Forty people and a foreign billionaire

About forty people walked the roundabout on Teen Murti Marg to the gate of Chanakyapuri police station, a distance you could cover in under a minute, on Friday to protest against Elon Musk’s Starlink. The walk was called by the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch. Nobody joined them on the way, and nobody seeme

Master sculptor recalls the making of the Shankaracharya statue

The Golden Chisel: The Story Behind the Making of Ram Lalla  By Seethalakshmi S. and Rahul Nandan Rupa Publications, 168 pages, Rs 395  

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter