2G trial: CBI begins internal probe into leakage of documents

New Delhi: CBI has begun an internal inquiry to probe leakage of classified documents in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation case as the agency finalised its counter arguments in the Supreme Court tomorrow over charges levelled by an NGO that the agency’s Director Ranjit Sinha was delaying trial in the scam.

Ahead of the hearing tomorrow, a series of meetings was held with the counsel representing CBI in the apex court where the agency will impress upon alleged twisting of facts by the counsel of the NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, Prashant Bhushan, official sources said.

CBI has objected to the claims made by Bhushan in his petition that its Director had been reprimanded in coal scam by the Supreme Court saying that there was no order in connection with this, they said.

CBI will also inform the Supreme Court about leakage of documents from the agency and also that an internal probe had been ordered to fix those responsible for the act of passing on internal file notings and classified notes outside the agency.

CBI will convey to the Supreme Court that since many provisions of the Right to Information Act were not applicable to the agency, how could the counsel for the NGO have access to the internal file notings, they said.

The internal inquiry is to find the “mole” within the organisation, the sources said.

The sources said these file notings in an open court were helping the accused persons.

As per the apex court directions, CBI has already informed the Special Public Prosecutor K K Venugopal regarding “certain discrepancies” in the earlier probe which had led to no investigations against Tata-Unitech deal, a matter which is being probed now.

About the allegation made by Bhushan that the CBI Director’s opinion in connection with Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL) to the then Special Counsel U U Lalit, who was later elevated as the Supreme Court judge, was derailing the ongoing trial, the sources said the opinion was given in compliance of the Supreme Court order only whereby the agency had been asked to give its opinion on a plea by the RTL seeking quashing of FIR.

The opinion of the CBI Director was rejected by Lalit and therefore, it never formed part of any documents that are in public domain.

On the allegation by Bhushan that Deputy Inspector General of CBI Santosh Rastogi, a 1998 IPS officer of Maharashtra cadre, was being transferred, the sources said the officer was never part of the 2G scam probe and he had joined the agency only after cases were sent for trial.

The officer, who has recused himself from the probe into the Tata-Unitech deal, had suo-moto sought transfer from CBI to ITBP.

However, in compliance with the Supreme Court order, the transfer order of the officer had been revoked.

PTI