Will defend myself once CBI investigation is over: Raja tells court

New Delhi: Former Telecom Minister A Raja today said that he was reluctant to start his defence in the charges framed against him in the 2G spectrum scam till the probe is completed by the CBI. “My sincere and only apprehension is that I should not be forced to place my arguments (on charges) before the court at this stage,” Raja told Special CBI Judge O P Saini contending that the agency could use the information against him in its third charge sheet. [caption id=“attachment_42352” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Raja in this file photo. Reuters.”] [/caption] He told the court hearing submissions on the schedule for argument on charges that the CBI is still investigating the role of various telecom operators in the case and they could be possibly made accused. “So far as investigation is concerned, where I am concerned, investigation is still going on,” Raja said. All the other accused in the case, including Swan Telecom Promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, also reiterated the same and accused CBI of not supplying the documents to them in an expeditious manner. The court told the defence counsel and the CBI to complete the process of supply and scrutiny of documents at the earliest. “Do whatever you do. You are at liberty. Please complete it (the scrutiny of documents) at the earliest,” the judge said adding that the tentative date for commencement of argument on the charges would be July 20. Special Public Prosecutor U U Lalit assured the court that they would do everything possible to quickly complete the scrutiny of documents. The judge has now listed July 19 for review on the process of scrutiny of documents so that arguments on the charges could be started. The high-profile accused in the 2G case had yesterday accused the agency of delaying the proceedings for framing of charges and thereby frustrating their chances of securing bail. They had alleged that the CBI was filing additional documents to delay the proceedings. PTI