CBI court raps 2G accused for filing frivolous petitions

A CBI special court rejected the plea of the Loop Telecom Limited and Vikash Saraf, accused in 2G spectrum allocation case, for allowing them to settle their case with the Department of Telecom (DoT) at Lok Adalat and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 each on them for wasting the court’s time.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini also turned down the request of Essar promoter Ravikant Ruia for permission to go abroad, observing that the accused filed petition in a “casual and cavalier manner” just to waste the time of the court and “delay” the disposal of the main 2G spectrum allocation case in which former telecom minister A Raja and others are facing trial.

Rejecting the plea of the Loop Telecom and Saraf for referring their case to Lok Adalat for settlement with the DoT, the court said, “It (2G scam) is an economic crime of grave magnitude and the accused are trying to trivialise the case by making such casual and cavalier pleas.”

The submission of the accused for reference of the case to Lok Adalat was without merit, the court noted. “The question then is: What has led the applicants to file the instant applications, though an earlier (such) application had already been dismissed?

There is only one resounding answer to this and that is that these applications are directed at wasting as much time of the court as is possible with a view to delay the disposal of the case by distracting the attention of the court and dissipating its energies,” the court added in its 21-page order.

The court underlined that the conduct of the accused invited a heavy imposition of “cost” on them. “However, I am inclined to take a little lenient view regarding imposition of cost as the trial (of the case) is at its fag end,” it said.

The court directed both Loop Telecom Limited and Saraf to deposit the amount of fine imposed on them “within seven days”. If they failed to deposit the cost within the time specified, warrants of attachment “shall follow in due course”.

Meanwhile, the court pulled up Ruia and rejected his plea seeking permission for traveling to Hong Kong from March 6 to April 15. The Essar promoter had sought the permission from the court to travel abroad at a time when the case, in which he is an accused, was fixed for final argument, on April 1.

“I find that these applications are being filed in a casual and cavalier manner, not for seeking relief prayed for but to waste the time of the court with a view to delay the disposal of the main case (of 2G scam) as these applications would keep the court busy and its attention away from the substantive matter,” the Special CBI Judge observed.

The application of Ruia deserved to be dismissed with an “exemplary cost”, he said. “But I refrain myself from imposing any cost in the hope that the applicant would desist himself from filing such frivolous application in future,” the judge added.