The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has told a Delhi court that it cannot be made to rely on the opinion of the Ministry of Law and Justice, which said that a firm should have more than 10 per cent stake in another for being termed its associate.
Special public prosecutor U.U. Lalit told CBI Judge O.P. Saini that the opinion cannot be used as a document of the CBI at the time of framing charges against the accused.
Lalit said, “It is true that the report is on record but who proved the document? What was the basis of the Ministry?s opinion and in what capacity was the opinion written? This needs to be investigated. This report cannot be accepted as a reliable document.?
Prior to this, the court had, on September 19, 2011, directed the CBI to file the Ministry of Law and Justice?s report.
Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL) and Swan Telecom, an alleged beneficiary of the 2G spectrum issue, have been stating that they were not associate firms as RTL’s stake in STPL was below 10 per cent, as mandated under the guidelines for the UAS licenses.
