The Central Bureau of Investigation has told the Supreme Court that it would require six more months to complete its scrutiny of the 2G spectrum scam.
Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium, appearing for the agency, told the apex court bench comprising of Justice G.S.Singhvi and Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly that there was an extensive probe being carried out within the country on a pan-India basis.
Subramanium added that the task of transcribing recorded conversations between public relations firm owner and corporate lobbyist Nira Radia with different people, including Telecom Minister A. Raja was huge.
Radia’s connections with eminent people in the telecom sector and the minister came to light when the Income Tax department put her phone under surveillance. The surveillance continued for near a year.
The entire investigation had to be carried out in co-ordination with other government agencies, including the Income Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate, the solicitor general said.
The court also asked the solicitor general to respond to an affidavit dated 15 Sep by the petitioner, the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, where it mentioned the adverse observations made by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the grant of 2G spectrum licences to the favoured companies.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior counsel Prashant Bhushan told the court that in 2008, the minister issued licences to non-telecom private operators at the prices prevailing in 2001, reportedly causing the public exchequer heavy losses.
This was done despite objections from the prime minister, the finance minister, the law minister, senior officials of the finance ministry and the then telecom secretary, he said. He added that the licences were issued in an arbitrary manner and even the first come first serve policy was not honoured.
Also, as soon as these players obtained the licences, they off-loaded the same at seven to eight times the price they had paid and a year had lapsed since the FIR was lodged but the investigating agency has taken no action against Telecommunications Minister A. Raja .
