2G spectrum case: Delhi HC refuses early hearing of CBI’s appeal against acquittal of A Raja, Kanimozhi and others

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to grant an early hearing on a petition moved by the Central Bureau of Investigation against the acquittal of A Raja, Kanimozhi and others in the 2G spectrum case. [caption id=“attachment_1349361” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Former Telecom Minister A Raja. PTI[/caption] Justice A K Chawla was hearing a petition moved by the investigating agency on May 31, seeking an early hearing in the case, which is already slated for 24 October. During the proceedings, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain, representing CBI, contended that the agency cannot wait until October and requested the court to understand the gravity of the matter. “We need an early hearing. There are arbitration claims. In this matter, eventually on merit, we may lose but not because our matter is not being heard,” he told the court. The Additional Solicitor general told the court that the matter is of national importance with international ramifications. “Respondents have no locus to oppose the same,” he added. Counsels of the respondents, however, opposed the agency’s application, asserting that copy of the notice was not served to them. They also objected to the grounds taken by the agency. The court had earlier sought a response from former Union Telecom Minister A Raja and others on the agency’s application. The trial court had, on 21 December 2017, acquitted 17 accused including A Raja, MP Kanimozhi and DMK supremo M Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal, Vinod Goenka, Asif Balwa, film producer Karim Morani, P Amirtham and Sharad Kumar, Director of Kalaignar TV in the Enforcement Directorate case. On the same day, the trial court acquitted Raja, Kanimozhi and 15 others, including former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja’s erstwhile private secretary R K Chandolia, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra and three top executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG): Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair, in the CBI’s 2G case. Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka and directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal were also acquitted in the CBI case. In March, both CBI and ED had approached the court against the acquittal of all the accused by the trial court. On 26 March, the court had stated that it will not proceed with the 2G spectrum case until the accused, including Swan Telecom’s Shahid Usman Balwa, comply with its earlier order and complete a plantation drive in Delhi’s Ridge area. It was ordered after they failed to file responses on the appeals by the two agencies challenging their acquittal in the 2G case, despite several reminders. The alleged scam relates to the grant of 2G spectrum licence allocations in 2007-08, which caused, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the public exchequer.