<div>The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet on the Antrix-Devas case has sparked an angry response from those named, with Devas Multimedia dubbing it a “mala fide act” of the Indian government.<br /><br />Devas chairman Lawrence Babbio on Friday called it a “retaliation” for the company exercising its legal right to contest the “illegal” annulment of the satellite spectrum deal with Antrix, the marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). <br /><br />Devas had approached the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) tribunal at The Hague, which ruled that the Indian government acted unfairly and had to pay compensation up to $1 billion. <br /><br />The CBI’s chargesheet on Thursday was against Devas, its former CEO and three directors besides the then Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair and other officials. <br /><br />In a statement, Babbio noted that the chargesheet was issued just weeks after the PCA tribunal had “unanimously found that the Indian government unlawfully expropriated the investments of Devas Mauritius-incorporated shareholders.” <br /><br />He said that since 2011, when India annulled the Devas-Antrix contract, “Devas had been subject to a range of unlawful measures from various parts of the Indian government, including the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate.” <br /><br />The chargesheet, Babbio said, is a continuation of the government’s campaign against Devas and its shareholders for daring to exercise their legal rights. <br /><br />Former additional secretary in the Department of Space, Veena S Rao who, too, was named in the charge sheet, called it “shocking, laughable and ludicrous.” <br /><br />“Pick on the weakest of them without a shred of evidence, a woman of the highest integrity, but without any political or ideological cover, and thinks it has done a perfect investigation,” she said in a Facebook post. <br /><br />“The Antrix-Devas contract was approved at the Antrix board meeting held on December 24, 2004. I was not present at the board meeting, as I had not yet been appointed to the Antrix board, and therefore had no knowledge of it,” she explained. <br /></div>
<div>The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet on the Antrix-Devas case has sparked an angry response from those named, with Devas Multimedia dubbing it a “mala fide act” of the Indian government.<br /><br />Devas chairman Lawrence Babbio on Friday called it a “retaliation” for the company exercising its legal right to contest the “illegal” annulment of the satellite spectrum deal with Antrix, the marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). <br /><br />Devas had approached the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) tribunal at The Hague, which ruled that the Indian government acted unfairly and had to pay compensation up to $1 billion. <br /><br />The CBI’s chargesheet on Thursday was against Devas, its former CEO and three directors besides the then Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair and other officials. <br /><br />In a statement, Babbio noted that the chargesheet was issued just weeks after the PCA tribunal had “unanimously found that the Indian government unlawfully expropriated the investments of Devas Mauritius-incorporated shareholders.” <br /><br />He said that since 2011, when India annulled the Devas-Antrix contract, “Devas had been subject to a range of unlawful measures from various parts of the Indian government, including the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate.” <br /><br />The chargesheet, Babbio said, is a continuation of the government’s campaign against Devas and its shareholders for daring to exercise their legal rights. <br /><br />Former additional secretary in the Department of Space, Veena S Rao who, too, was named in the charge sheet, called it “shocking, laughable and ludicrous.” <br /><br />“Pick on the weakest of them without a shred of evidence, a woman of the highest integrity, but without any political or ideological cover, and thinks it has done a perfect investigation,” she said in a Facebook post. <br /><br />“The Antrix-Devas contract was approved at the Antrix board meeting held on December 24, 2004. I was not present at the board meeting, as I had not yet been appointed to the Antrix board, and therefore had no knowledge of it,” she explained. <br /></div>
