Scam on pause mode in SC

The NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) which has brought the issue before the Court, alleged that the telecom ministry is not providing complete details including the conversation between Raja and a corporate lobbyist relating to the scam.

The much-awaited hearing, which lasted for only 25 minutes, went off without any hard hitting remarks against the Government or the CBI and there was also no reference to the name of Raja who resigned late last night.

A Bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly heard advocate Prashant Bhushan, the counsel for the NGO, which has brought the issue of alleged scam to the court.

He opened the argument by alleging that the Department of Telecom (DoT) and Raja favoured ineligible companies while allocating 2G spectrum (air waves) in 2008, causing a loss of around Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer as is evident from the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

Bhushan alleged that Raja ignored advice of the sectoral regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) and the Ministry of Law and Justice to consult Empowered Group of Ministers on the issue of spectrum allocation. The NGO, which was responding to the affidavit filed by the DoT, alleged that DoT avoided mentioning the taped conversations between Raja and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia relating to the issue of award of licences and spectrum, in its affidavit filed on November 11.