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2G SCAM * To be booked for forgery * Special trial court soon R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, March 16 A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly asked the CBI to appoint a competent advocate as the public prosecutor to ensure that those responsible for the alleged scam, estimated by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) at Rs 1.76 lakh crore, do not walk free at the end of the trial. Submitting another status report to the Bench on the CBI investigations in the case, senior counsel KK Venugopal said the agency had decided to slap forgery charges against Raja and other accused, in addition to charges under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC and Sections 13(2) and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Without naming the two companies against whom the chargesheet would be filed, Venugpoal said several additional chargesheets would be filed against other individuals and companies at a later stage. Attorney-General GE Vahanvati said the Delhi High Court had given the go-ahead for setting up the special court that would hold the trial exclusively and a notification in that regard would be issued before the CBI was ready with its chargesheet. Responding to a news report that the CBI had questioned him, the AG said the agency had merely sought his clarification over a document of the Department of Telecom (DoT) relating to the “first-come, first-served” method on which he had given his opinion in his capacity as the Solicitor-General in 2008. The CAG has taken exception to that method for allotting Spectrum in 2008 at 2001 prices, instead of opting for the auction route.The CBI said the investigations would conclude in a few weeks and another status report filed in the court by the end of this month.The Bench, meanwhile, rejected a plea by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) to associate itself with the PIL that had sought cancellation of the 2G licences. The plea was strongly opposed by Reliance Infocomm and Tata Telecom, terming the PIL itself as a corporate warfare in the name of public interest.
Raja’s close aide commits ‘suicide’
While his family claims he committed suicide, Batcha’s sudden death has evoked shock among the public as it comes amid reports that he had decided to become an approver in the 2G Spectrum case. His body was brought to Apollo hospital this afternoon and doctors there declared that he was brought dead. Even while the body was being sent for post-mortem to a government hospital, the police quoted family sources and said Batcha had hanged himself.Chennai Police Commissioner T Rajendran said, “The police is yet to verify anything. We are investigating. He was brought dead to the Apollo hospital at about 1:30 p.m. The family says he had hanged himself.” Batcha was the managing director of Greenhouse Promoters, a firm which is under the investigation of the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. Both the agencies were inquiring the possibility of his firm being a front of the former minister. The CBI along with the ED had conducted searches at his premises late last year. Both the agencies have questioned him earlier in connection with the case. Meanwhile, the CBI has said Sadiq’s death will have no bearing on the probe in the 2G Spectrum scam. “There has been no pressure from the CBI on Batcha. He was cooperating with the CBI. The development is unexpected but it will not affect the investigation in the 2G scam as all the evidences have already been recorded,” a CBI spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the official and residential premises of Batcha were searched on December 15, 2010, and he had been called for questioning four times since then with the last one being on February 24, 2011. While the spokesperson did not specify the future course of action, sources in the agency said they would be informing the Supreme Court about the development.
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Chennai/New Delhi, March 16