Excess spectrum case: SC to hear Ravi Ruia's plea on April 15

The Supreme Court will hear Essar Group promoter Ravi Ruia’s plea against his summoning as an accused in a corruption case related to allocation of additional 2G spectrum in 2002 on 15 April.

On Tuesday, Ravi Ruia moved the Supreme Court challenging the Special CBI Court’s order summoning him as an accused in the caserelating to grant of excess spectrum during the NDA regime. Ruia’s plea will be heard along with Bharti’s Sunil Mittal on April 15. A bench headed by the CJI also directed the 2G court not to proceed with Ruia’s case till April 16.

[caption id=“attachment_693398” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Ruia’s counsel said the sole basis for the trial court’s decision to summon his client was that he had chaired certain meetings of Sterling Cellular Ltd and held the view that decisions of the company could be attributed to him. AFP[/caption]

Ruia, whose name was not mentioned as an accused in CBI’s FIR and charge sheet filed before the special 2G court, moved the apex court contending that if true and corrects facts about the affairs of Sterling Cellular Ltd, in which he was a director at that time, were placed before the trial court, such a summoning order may not have been passed.

He said in his petition that it appeared that the only basis for summoning him was that as he had chaired some of the meetings of the company, thus he was an “alter-ego” and “directing mind of the will” of Sterling Cellular Ltd.

The Supreme Court has sought the CBI’s response on Ruia’s plea.

Ruia’s plea comes a day after Bharti group chairman Sunil Mittal’s counsel had argued before the Supreme Court that the alleged action of a company in securing excess spectrum could not be fastened as a vicarious liability on those at the helm of affairs. The apex court has asked the CBI to explain why the agency did not name Mittal in the chargesheet but was defending the summons by the trial court.

Like Mittal, Ruia’s name too did not find mention in the chargesheet.

The bench also wanted to know why section 319 of CrPC was applied by the special court to proceed against other persons, not named as accused in the charge sheet. The special 2G court had summoned Ruia, Mittal and Asim Ghosh, whose names were not mentioned as an accused in CBI’s charge sheet, saying there was “enough material” to proceed against them in the case.

The apex court has deferred till April 16 the proceedings in the trial court in the case.

With PTI inputs