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2G SPECTRUM SCAM

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Shivam Tripathi
Shivam Tripathi
Shivam Tripathi
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Sharda Vanza
Sharda Vanza
Sharda Vanza
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207
Profile of the company:
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a coalition of centre-left
political parties in India formed after the 2004 general election. The
largest member party of the UPA is the Indian National Congress, whose
Former National President Sonia Gandhi is chairperson of the UPA. It
formed a government with support from some other left-aligned parties in
2004. As of June 2018, UPA is in power in 3 states and in 1 union territory
- Karnataka, Mizoram, Punjab and Pondicherry respectively. Previously,
UPA governed states are Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West
Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra.
History and trend of the company:
India is divided into 22 telecommunications zones, with 281 zonal
licenses. In 2008, 122 new second-generation 2G Unified Access Service
(UAS) licenses were granted to telecom companies on a first-come, first-
served basis at the 2001 price. According to the CBI charge sheet, several
laws were violated and bribes were paid to favour certain firms in
granting 2G spectrum licenses. According to a CAG audit, licenses were
granted to ineligible corporations, those with no experience in the telecom
sector (such as Unitech and Swan Telecom) and those who had concealed
relevant information. Although former Prime Minister Singh advised Raja
to allot 2G spectrum transparently and revise the license fee in a
2G SPECTRUM SCAM
Mr. Shivam Tripathi, Ms. Sharda Vanza
208
November 2007 letter, Raja rejected many of Singh's recommendations. In
another letter that month, the Ministry of Finance expressed procedural
concerns to the DOT; these were ignored, and the cut-off date was moved
forward from 1st October to 25th September 2007. On 25 September,
2007 the DOT announced on its website that applicants filing between
3:30 and 4:30 pm that day would be granted licenses. Although the policy
for awarding licences was first-come, first-served, which was introduced
during Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government, Raja changed the rules so it
applied to compliance with conditions instead of the application itself. On
10th January 2008, companies were given only a few hours to supply
Letters of Intent and payments; some executives were allegedly tipped off
by Raja. Although the corporation was ineligible, Swan Telecom was
granted a license for ₹15.37 billion (US$210 million) and sold a 45-percent
share to the UAE-based Etisalat for ₹42 billion (US$580 million). Unitech
Wireless (a subsidiary of the Unitech Group) obtained a license for ₹16.61
billion (US$230 million), selling a 60-percent share for ₹62
billion (US$860 million) to Norway-based Telenor.
The following is a list of companies who received 2G licenses during Raja's
term as telecom minister; the licenses were later cancelled by the Supreme
Court:
209
Company
Telecom
regions
# of
licenses
Remarks
Adonis
Projects
Haryana,
Himachal
Pradesh,
Jammu &
Kashmir,
Punjab,
Rajasthan,
Uttar
Pradesh
(East)
6
Adonis Projects, Nahan Properties, Aska
Projects, Volga Properties, Azare Properties
& Hudson Properties were acquired by
Unitech. Since Unitech Infrastructure and
Unitech Builders & Estates were subsidiaries
of Unitech Group, in 2008 Unitech had 22 2G
licenses. Later that year, Telenor bought a
majority share in the telecom company from
the Unitech Group and now provides service
as Uninor with 22 licences.
Nahan
Properties
Assam,
Bihar,
North East,
Orissa,
Uttar
Pradesh
(east),
West
Bengal
6
Aska
Projects
Andhra
Pradesh,
Kerala,
Karnataka
3
Volga
Properties
Gujarat,
Madhya
Pradesh,
3
210
Maharashtr
a
Azure
Properties
Kolkata
1
Hudson
Properties
Delhi
1
Unitech
Builders &
Estates
Tamil Nadu
(including
Chennai)
1
211
Loop Telecom
21
Datacom
Solutions
21
Operates as Videocon Telecom
212
Shyam Telelink
17
Shyam Telelink & Shyani
Telelink have a combined 21
licenses. In late 2008 Russia-
based Sistema bought a
majority share in the
213
company, which now operates
as MTS India.
Shyani Telelink
4
Swan Telecom
13
Swan was a subsidiary of
Reliance Telecom established
to circumvent the one-
company-one-license rule. In
2008, Swan merged with
Allianz Infratech; late in the
year Abu Dhabi's Etisalat
bought about 45 percent of the
214
company, renaming it Etisalat
DB Telecom.
Allianz Infratech
2
Idea Cellular
9
Since Idea
Cellular bought Spice
Communications in 2008
for ₹27
billion(US$380 million), of the
122 spectrum licenses sold in
2008 Idea owns 13. Seven are
in use by the company, and the
remainder are overlapping
licenses.
Spice
Communications
4
215
S Tel
6
In January 2009, Bahrain
Telecommunications agreed to
buy 49 percent of S Tel for
$225 million. Chinnakannan
Sivasankaran owns the
remaining share.In May
2009, Sahara Group bought an
11.7-percent share in S Tel.
Tata
Teleservices
3
In late 2008 Tata sold a 26-
percent share to the
Japanese NTT DoCoMo for
about ₹130.7
billion (US$1.8 billion), or
an enterprise value of ₹502.69
billion(US$7.0 billion).
Sequences of fraud:
The Centre for Public Interest Litigation filed the first petition against the
Union of India for irregularities in awarding 2G spectrum licenses. The
petition alleged that the government lost $15.53 billion by issuing
spectrum in 2008 based on 2001 prices, and by not following a
competitive bidding process. This led to further petitions, and an
investigation began in 2010.
216
2007
May: A Raja becomes Telecom Minister.
August: Allotment of 2G spectrum and Universal Access Service
(UAS) licences by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)
begins.
September 25th: The Telecom Ministry issues a press release that
its deadline for application is 1 October.
October 1st: DoT receives 575 applications for UAS licences from
46 companies.
November 2nd: The prime minister writes to Raja, directing him to
ensure the allotment of 2G spectrum in a fair and transparent
manner and to ensure that the licence fee was revised. Raja rejects
many of the prime minister's recommendations.
November 22nd: In a letter to the DoT, the Finance Ministry raises
procedural concerns. Its demand for a review is rejected.
2008
January 10th: The DoT decides to issue licences on first-come, first-
served basis, advancing the cut-off date from 1 October to 25
September and announcing on its website that those applying
between 3.30 and 4.30 pm would be granted licences in accordance
with policy.
Total collection from sale of 122 licenses was about 9200 Crore.
Swan Telecom, Unitech and Tata Teleservices sell shares at much
higher prices to Etisalat, Telenor and DoCoMo, respectively.
217
2009
May 4th: A telecom-watchdog NGO files a complaint with the
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on illegalities in spectrum
allocation to Loop Telecom.
May 19th: Another complaint is filed with the CVC by Arun
Agarwal, highlighting the low-cost spectrum grant to Swan
Telecom. The CVC directs the CBI to investigate irregularities in the
allocation of 2G spectrum.
July 1st: Responding to a petition from S-Tel, the Delhi High Court
rules the advancement of the cut-off date illegal.
October 20th: The CBI registers a case, filing a First Information
Report against unknown officers of the DoT and unknown private
persons and companies under provisions of the Indian Penal Code
and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
October 22nd: The Directorate General of Income Tax
Investigation raids DoT offices.
November 16th: The CBI investigates a wiretapped conversation
by corporate lobbyist Nira Radia to learn the involvement of
middlemen in the grant of spectrum to telecom companies, seeking
information from the Directorate General of Income Tax
Investigation about Radia and her company.
2010
March 13th: The Supreme Court upholds the Delhi High Court
ruling that the cutoff-date advancement was illegal.
218
March 31st: According to the Comptroller and Auditor General,
there were large-scale irregularities in spectrum allocation.
April 2nd: CBI Deputy Inspector General of Investigations Vineet
Agarwal and Indian Revenue Service Director General of Income
Tax Investigations Milap Jain, who were investigating the case, are
transferred; Jain becomes Director General of International
Taxation.
May 6th: Telephone conversation between Raja and Niira Radia,
recorded by the Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation,
made public. The Centre for Public Interest Litigation petitions
the Delhi High Court for a special investigation of the case.
May 25th: Petition dismissed by the court.
August: Dismissal appealed to the Supreme Court.
August 18th: High Court refuses to order the prime minister to rule
on a request by Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy to
prosecute Raja.
September 13th: The Supreme Court asks the government and Raja
to reply within 10 days to three petitions filed by the CPIL and
others alleging a ₹70,000 crore(US$9.7 billion) scam in granting
telecom licences in 2008.
September 24th: Swamy petitions the Supreme Court to order the
PM to prosecute Raja.
September 27th: The Directorate General of Income Tax
Investigation informs the Supreme Court of a probe of firms
219
suspected to have violated the Foreign Exchange Management
Act, saying it cannot confirm or deny Raja's involvement.
October 8th: The Supreme Court asks the government to respond
to the Comptroller and Auditor General report about the case.
October 21st: Draft reports from the CAG are presented to the
Supreme Court.
October 29th: The Supreme Court criticises the CBI for its slowness
in investigating the case.
November 10th: The CAG submits a report on 2G spectrum to the
government, stating a loss of ₹176,000 crore (US$25 billion) to the
exchequer.
November 11th: The DoT files a Supreme Court affidavit that the
CAG lacked the authority to question the 2008 policy decision.
November 14th: Raja resigns as telecom minister.
November 15th: Kapil Sibal placed in charge of Telecom Ministry.
November 20th: Affidavit on behalf of the PM filed in Supreme
Court rejecting the charge of inaction on Swamy's complaint.
November 22nd: The CBI and the Directorate General of Income
Tax Investigation tell the SC they will file a charge sheet within
three months, and the CBI says it will investigate the role of Niira
Radia.
November 24th: The SC reserves verdict on Swamy's request to the
PM to prosecute Raja.
November 25th: The SC criticises the CBI for not questioning Raja.
November 29th: The CBI files a status report on the probe.
220
November 30th: The SC questions the Central Vigilance
Commission's P. J. Thomas' fitness to supervise the CBI probe,
since he was Telecom Secretary at that time.
December 1st: The SC orders the original tapes of conversations by
Radia. Raja questions the CAG findings.
December 2nd: The government supplies Directorate General of
Income Tax Investigation tapes to the SC, which criticises Raja for
ignoring the PM's advice to delay the spectrum allocation.
December 8th: SC favours including 2001 (when first-come, first-
served was the norm for spectrum allocation) in the probe period
and asks the government to consider a special court. The
Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation reports a money
trail covering 10 countries, including Mauritius.
December 14th: PIL filed in SC, seeking the cancellation of new
telecom licences and 2G spectrum allocated under Raja.
December 15th: Swamy petitions a Delhi court for his inclusion as
a public prosecutor, saying Raja favoured "ineligible" companies
Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless in allocating spectrum.
December 16th: The SC decides to monitor the CBI inquiry.
2011
January 4th: Swamy petitions the SC for cancellation of the
licenses.
10 January: Supreme Court notifies the government of Swamy's
petition, and issues notices to 11 companies which allegedly did
not fulfill the roll-out obligations or were ineligible.
221
January 30th: The government's decision to regularise the licenses
of companies which failed to meet the deadline is challenged in the
Supreme Court.
February 2nd: Raja, former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura
and Raja's former personal secretary, R. K. Chandolia, are arrested.
February 8th: Raja is remanded to two more days of CBI custody,
and Behura and Chandolia are placed in judicial custody. Swan
Telecom corporate promoter Shahid Usman Balwa is arrested.
February 10th: The Supreme Court asks the CBI to investigate
corporations which were beneficiaries of the spectrum allocation.
Raja and Balwa are remanded to CBI custody for four more days by
a special CBI court.
February 14th: Raja's custody is extended by three days, and
Balwa's for four.
February 17th: Raja is sent to Tihar Jail under judicial custody.
February 18th: The Directorate General of Income Tax
Investigation questions Kani Mozhi at its Chennai headquarters.
February 25th: The Directorate General of Income Tax
Investigation tells a Delhi court that Balwa facilitated transactions
to Kalaignar TV.
February 28th: Raja requests video-conferenced judicial
proceedings, saying that he is threatened by other inmates.
March 1st: The CBI tells the SC that 63 people are under
investigation. Raja appears in CBI court via video-conference.
March 11th: The Delhi High Court establishes a special court.
Balwa is also allowed to appear via video-conference.
222
March 17th: The SC reserves judgment on licence cancellations,
rejecting corporate claims that estoppel cannot be applied to
protect illegality.
March 29th: The SC allows the CBI to file its chargesheet on 2 April
instead of 31 March. Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal are arrested.
April 2nd: The CBI files its first chargesheet.
April 25th: The CBI files a second chargesheet, and Kanimozhi,
Sharad Kumar and Karim Morani are summoned.
May 6th: Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar appear, requesting bail,
and Morani requests an appearance exemption on medical
grounds. The SC issues a contempt of court notice to Sahara India
Pariwar managing director Subrata Roy and two others for alleged
interference in the Directorate General of Economic
Enforcement investigation.
7 May: The special CBI court reserves judgment on Kanimozhi and
Kumar's bail requests.
May 14th: The special CBI court postpones judgment on the bail
pleas for 20 May.
May 20th: The special court refuses Kanimozhi and Kumar's bail
requests, ordering their arrest to prevent witness-tampering.
June 8th: Delhi HC judge Ajit Bharihoke again refuses bail
Kanimozhi and Kumar's bail requests.
June 20th: The SC refuses Kanimozhi's bail request.
223
July 25th: Arguments begin, with Raja wanting to summon the
prime minister and former finance minister P. Chidambaram as
witnesses.
August 26th: The special CBI court allows Subramanian Swamy to
argue his own case, primarily to address possible loopholes in its
investigation.
August 30th: The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation
freezes accounts and attaches properties worth ₹223
crore (US$31 million) belonging to five companies (primarily
related to DB Realty under the Prevention of Money Laundering
Act (PMLA)).
September 1st: The Enforcement Directorate files a status report
in Supreme Court of a Foreign Exchange Management
Act violation of ₹ 100 billion.
September 15th: Swamy requests that P. Chidambaram should be
charged.
September 22nd: The CBI defends Chidambaram in the SC, blaming
the DoT.
September 26th: The CBI requests criminal-breach-of-trust charges
for Raja, Chandolia and Behura.
October 19th: The CBI files a First Information Report against
Maran and his brother in the Aircel-Maxis deal.
October 10th: The SC reserves judgment on Swamy's request for a
probe of Home Minister Chidambaram's role in the
matter.[155][156] The CBI arrests former telecom minister
224
and DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran and his brother, Kalanithi
Maran.
October 22nd: The special CBI court finds prima facie evidence to
try the 17 accused (including Raja) on charges including criminal
conspiracy, breach of trust, cheating and forgery.
November 3rd: The special CBI court dismisses bail requests of all
eight applicants, including Kanimozhi.
November 8th: The special court orders CBI to provide Swamy
with copies of files on equity sales by telecom companies in its
investigation of P. Chidambaram's involvement.
November 9th: The Delhi HC refuses bail to Karim Morani on
health grounds, promising a ruling to the CBI on five other bail
requests by 1 December.
November 11th: Trial of the 17 accused begins in the Patiala House
special CBI court.
November 14th: The United Progressive Alliance government asks
the SC to restrain Swamy from publicly accusing the UPA
leadership, especially Home MinisterP Chidambaram and UPA
chair Sonia Gandhi.
November 22nd: The special court moves the trial to the Tihar jail,
after a Delhi high-court order.
November 23rd: The SC grants bail to five corporate executives:
Sanjay Chandra of Unitech Wireless, Vinod Goenka of Swan
Telecom and the Reliance Group's Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara
and Hari Nayar.
225
November 28th: The Delhi High Court grants bail to DMK MP
Kanimozhi and four others: Karim Morani, Sharad Kumar, Asif
Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal, upholding the principle of parity
under Section 144 of the Constitution of India in a SC order.
November 29th: The special court grants bail to Shahid Balwa,
citing the principle of parity; the SC and HC had granted bail to 10
other accused parties.
December 1st: The special court grants bail to Raja's former
private secretary, R. K. Chandolia, ordering him not to visit the DoT
without prior court permission.
December 2nd: Claiming suo motu, the HC stays trial-court bail
granted to R. K. Chandolia.
December 7th: The SC stays the HC's suo motu order against
Chandolia's bail request.
December 8th: The special CBI court accepts Swamy's request to
summon Chidambaram as a witness and question two witnesses:
senior CBI and Finance Ministry officials.
December 12th: The CBI files a third chargesheet, naming Essar
Group corporate promoters Ravi Ruia, his son Anshuman Ruia and
its director of strategy and planning, Vikas Saraf, and Loop
Telecom promoters Kiran Khaitan and her husband, I P Khaitan. It
also charges Loop Mobile India, its subsidiary Loop Telecom
and Essar Tele Holding.
December 16th: The HC rejects the bail request of Siddharth
Behura: "He was the 'perpetrator' of the illegal designs of Raja and
would not claim benefit of parity with 10 others released on bail".
226
2012
2 February: The Supreme Court cancels the 122 licenses issued by
Raja and imposes a ₹50 million ($1,018,122) fine on Unitech, Swan
and Tata Teleservices and a ₹5 million fine on Loop Telecom Pvt
Ltd, S-Tel, Allianz Infratech and Sistema Shyam Tele Services. The
SC requested a trial-court ruling about whether Home Minister P
Chidambaram should be charged.
4 February: The special court, under justice O.P Saini, dismisses
Swamy's request to charge Chidambram.
8 February: The Enforcement Directorate and the Directorate
General of Income Tax Investigation charge DMK leader Dayanidhi
Maran with money launderingand his brother, Kalanithi Maran, for
allegedly receiving about ₹5.5 billion illegally in the Aircel-Maxis
deal.
9 February: Essar Group and Loop Telecom appeal their special-
court subpoenas to the Supreme Court.
15 February: The Supreme Court refuses an interim stay on the
February 22 summonses of Essar Group, Loop Telecom and their
officials by the special court.
22 February: The CBI files a complaint with the CVC about witness-
tampering by the Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation,
allegedly at the behest of DMK Minister of State for Finance SS
Palanimanickam. Swamy said he would notify the Supreme Court.
227
23 February: Swamy petitions the Supreme Court to overturn the
trial-court dismissal of his request to charge Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram.
2 March: The government of India files a review petition in
Supreme Court of the court's 2 February order cancelling the 122
licenses, questioning the court's authority to supersede the first-
come, first-served policy but not challenging the validity of the
cancellations. Raja and Sistema (majority shareholder in MTS
India, Uninor and other telecom companies) also file a SC review
petition.
4 April: Except for the government of India's partial review
petition, the Supreme Court dismisses all 10 review
petitions. Companies dismissed include Videocon
Telecommunications, S Tel, Sistema Shyam Teleservices, Tata
Teleservices, Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu), Etisalat DB Telecom
and Idea Cellular.
12 April: The government requests an advisory opinion from the
Supreme Court on issues arising from its 2 February ruling.
9 May: The Supreme Court grants bail to Siddharth Behura; and
upheld RK Chandolia's bail. Raja requests bail.
15 May: Bail granted to Raja after 15 months, on condition that he
have court permission to visit Tamil Nadu.
6 June: The special court allows Raja to visit Tamil Nadu.
3 July: Briefing the joint parliamentary committee probing the case,
the Enforcement Directorate said it has enough evidence to convict
DMK chief Karunanidhi's wife and daughter, Kanimozhi.
228
31 July: Former DoT senior official A. K. Srivastava confirmed the
CBI's allegation in his testimony, and Raja (as telecom minister)
was the final authority on policy matters. In an earlier statement to
CBI, he said that Raja had recorded the cut—off date of 1 October
2007 in a DoT file.
1 August: The Supreme Court, in its advisory opinion on the 2G
judgment, says that the implementation of the first-come, first-
served policy was flawed. According to the Chief Justice, "The
moment you change the criterion and distort the policy, it ceases to
be FCFS policy. If you insist on making payment at the last minute
after changing the cut-off date, then it is not FCFS, it is an out-of-
turn policy."
3 August: In accordance with a Supreme Court directive, the
government of India revises the spectrum value to ₹140
billion (US$1.9 billion); this discredits the zero-loss theory and
illustrates the ₹1,760 billion (US$25 billion) revenue loss
calculated by the CAG.
9 August: The government again requests an extension from the
Supreme Court (this time to 12 November) of the deadline to begin
auctioning spectrum licences. After cancelling 122 licences in
February, the court had given it four months to re-auction them
(which had been extended to 31 August).
11 November: After one year of trial, 77 of 154 witnesses have
been deposed.
229
2013
20 April: Communist Party of India senior MP Gurudas
Dasgupta accuses Manmohan Singh of "dereliction of duty",
alleging that the PM was aware of irregularities in the allocation of
telecom licences. According to Dasgupta, in a November 2007
letter Kamal Nath advised the Prime Minister to establish a group
of ministers to allocate spectrum. He also referred to a note from
the Cabinet Secretary recommending that the assessed value of
spectrum licences be increased.
23 April: In a 112-page written statement to the joint
parliamentary committee, Raja said that he met with P.
Chidambaram and Prime Minister Singh several times from
November 2007 to July 2008 to inform them of all 2G-related
decisions and Singh agreed with him.
2017
21 December: A special CBI court acquits everyone accused in the
2G spectrum case stating that the prosecution has failed to prove
any charge against any of the accused, made in its well
choreographed charge sheet.
Who was responsible?
The selling of the licenses drew attention to three groups:
politicians and bureaucrats, who had the authority to sell licenses;
corporations buying the licenses, and professionals who mediated
between the politicians and corporations.
230
Politicians
The following charges were filed by the CBI and the Directorate
General of Income Tax Investigation in the Special CBI Court.
A. Raja
Political career: Four-time DMK member of Parliament (last won
constituency Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu) and now not an MP, maker
Union Minister of State for Rural Development (1999) and Health
and Family Welfare (2003), former Union Cabinet Minister for
Environment and Forests (2004) and Communication and
Information Technology (2007 and 2009).
Allegation: A joint investigative report by the CBI and the Income
Tax Department alleged that Raja may have received a ₹30
billion (US$420 million) bribe for moving the cut-off date for
spectrum applications forward. The changed deadline eliminated
many applications, enabling Raja to favour a few applicants. The
agencies also alleged that he used accounts in his wife's name in
Mauritius and Seychelles banks for the kickbacks. A CBI charge
sheet alleged that Raja conspired with the accused and arbitrarily
refined the first-come, first-served policy to ensure that Swan and
Unitech received licences. Instead of auctioning 2G spectrum, he
sold it at the 2001 rate.
Charges: Criminal breach of trust by a public servant (section 409),
criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and
231
forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under the Prevention of
Corruption Act for accepting illegal gratification.
Status: Arrested by the CBI on February 2nd, 2011. Applied for bail
on 9th May 2012, which was granted on 15th May. On 21
December 2017, he has been acquitted by a Special CBI Court.
M. K. Kanimozhi
Political career: Daughter of five-time Chief Minister of Tamil
Nadu M. Karunanidhi. DMK member of Parliament, representing
Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha.
Allegations: According to the CBI charge sheet, Kanimozhi owns 20
percent of family-owned Kalaignar TV; her stepmother, Dayalu
Ammal, owns 60 percent of the channel. The CBI alleges that
Kanimozhi was the "active brain" behind the channel and
conspired with Raja to coerce DB Realty cofounder Shahid Balwa to
funnel ₹2 billion (US$28 million) to Kalaignar TV. Kanimozhi was
in regular contact with Raja about the launch of Kalaignar TV. Raja
advanced the channel's cause, facilitating its registration with
the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and adding it
to DTH operator TATA Sky's lineup. Kanimozhi was charged with
tax evasion by the Income Tax Department in Chennai.
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant and criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471), and booked
under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
232
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 20th May 2011. Granted bail on 28th
November 2011, after 188 days in custody. On 21st December
2017, she has been acquitted by a Special CBI Court.
Bureaucrats
A number of bureaucrats were named in the CBI charge sheet filed
in its Special Court.
Siddharth Behura
Position: Telecom Secretary when the licenses were granted.
Allegations: According to the CBI charge sheet, Behura conspired
with Raja and several others. When the application deadline time
was declared, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm Behura closed counters to
block other telecom companies.
Charges: Criminal breach of trust by a public servant (Section 409),
criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and
forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under the Prevention of
Corruption Act for accepting illegal gratuities.
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 2nd February 2011 and granted bail
on 9th May 2012, and finally acquitted on 21st December 2017 by
a Special CBI Court for lack of convincing evidence. In July 10th,
2012 joint parliamentary committee deposition, Behura blamed
Raja for most of the decisions related to 2G spectrum auctions.
RK Chandolia
Position: Raja's private secretary when the licenses were granted.
233
Allegations: According to the CBI charge sheet Chandolia, like
Behura, conspired with Raja and several others; when the
application deadline time was declared from 3:30 to 4:30 pm,
Chandolia joined Behura in shutting counters to physically block
other telecom companies.
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B), cheating
(Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under
the Prevention of Corruption Act
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 2nd February 2011. Although he
was granted bail by the special CBI court on 1st of December 2011,
the following day the High Court took suo motu notice of
newspaper reports of the bail and stayed it. Chandolia appealed to
the Supreme Court, and on 9th May 2012 the court upheld the bail
grant. He was acquitted on 21st December 2017 by a Special CBI
Court for lack of substantial evidence.
Executives
A number of executives were accused in the CBI charge sheet.
Sanjay Chandra
Position: Former Unitech Wireless managing director
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under
the Prevention of Corruption Act
234
Allegations: Former CBI prosecutor AK Singh was implicated in a
taped conversation sharing legal strategy and privileged
information with Chandra.
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 20th April 2011 and granted bail on
24 November, As of 21st December 2017 he has been acquitted by
a special CBI Court.
Umashankar
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under
the Prevention of Corruption Act
Allegations: Former CBI prosecutor AK Singh was implicated in a
taped conversation sharing legal strategy and privileged
information with Umashankar.
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 20th April 2008 and granted bail
same day. As of 21st December 2017 he has been acquitted by a
special CBI Court.
Gautam Doshi
Position: Managing director, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
Group
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under
the Prevention of Corruption Act
235
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 20th April 2011 and granted bail on
24th November 2011. As of 21st December 2017 he has been
acquitted by a special CBI Court.
Hari Nair
Position: Senior vice-president, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
Group
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under
the Prevention of Corruption Act
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 20th April 2011 and granted bail on
24 November 2011. As of 21st December 2017 he has been
acquitted by a special CBI Court.
Surendra Pipara
Position: Senior vice-president, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
Group
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by
a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under
the Prevention of Corruption Act
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 20th April 2011 and granted bail on
24th November 2011. As of 21st December 2017 he has been
acquitted by a special CBI Court.
236
Vinod Goenka
Position: Managing director, DB Realty and Swan Telecom
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by
a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B), cheating
(Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of
evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of
Corruption Act
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 20th April 2011 and granted bail on
24th November 2011. As of 21st December 2017 he has been
acquitted by a special CBI Court.
Shahid Balwa
Position: Corporate promoter, DB Realty and Swan Telecom
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by
a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of
evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of
Corruption Act
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 8th February 2011 and granted bail
on the 29th of November 2011, acquitted on 21st of December
2017 by a special CBI Court.
Asif Balwa
Position: Director, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
237
(Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of
evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of
Corruption Act
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 29th March 2011 and granted bail
on 28th of November 2011 Acquitted on 21st of December 2017
by a special CBI Court.
Rajiv Agarwal
Position: Director, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of
evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of
Corruption Act
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 29th March 2011 and granted bail
on 28th of November 2011. Acquitted on 21st of December 2017
by a special CBI Court.
Sharath Kumar
Position: Managing director, Kalaignar TV
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of
evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of
Corruption Act
238
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 20th May 2011 and granted bail on
28th of November 2011. Acquitted on 21st of December 2017 by a
special CBI Court.
Ravi Ruia
Position: Vice-chair, Essar Group
Charges: Criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B) and cheating (Section
420)
Status: At large; as of August 2012, acquitted while at large on 21st
December 2017 by a special CBI Court.
Anshuman Ruia
Position: Director, Essar Group
Charges: Criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B) and cheating (Section
420).
Status: At large; acquitted while at large on 21st of December 2017
by a special CBI Court.
Vikas Saraf
Position: Director of strategy and planning, Essar Group
Charges: Criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B) and cheating (Section
420 of the Indian Penal Code)
Status: At large; acquitted while at large on 21st of December 2017
by a special CBI Court.
239
Ishwari Prasad Khaitan
Position: Corporate promoter, Loop Telecom
Charges: Criminal conspiracy under (Section 120 B) and cheating
(Section 420)
Status: At large; acquitted while at large on 21st of December 2017
by a special CBI Court.
Kiran Khaitan
Position: Corporate promoter, Loop Telecom
Charges: Criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B) and cheating (Section
420)
Status: At large; acquitted while at large on 21st of December 2017
by a special CBI Court.
Karim Morani
Position: Corporate promoter and director, Cineyug Films
Allegations: According to the Income Tax Department charge sheet,
Morani-owned Cineyug Films was a part of the route used by
Shahid Balwa to funnel ₹2 billion (US$28 million) illegally to
Kalaignar TV. DB Realty corporate promoters Shahid
Balwa and Vinod Goenka transferred ₹2,092.5
million (US$29 million) to Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables, where
Balwa's younger brother Asif was a director. Kusegaon then
transferred ₹2 billion (US$28 million) to Cineyug Films, and
Morani transferred it to Kalaignar TV.
240
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of
evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of
Corruption Act
Status: Arrested by the CBI on 30th May 2011 and granted bail on
28th of November 2011. Promptly acquitted on 21st of December
2017 by a "special CBI Court".
Corporations
Several companies were named in the CBI charge sheet.
Unitech Wireless
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating
(Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471)
Status: The company was acquitted on 21 December 2017 of any
wrongdoing by Special CBI Court.
Reliance Telecom
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B) and cheating
(Section 420)
Status: As of December 2017, acquitted in 2G spectrum case.
241
Swan Telecom
Charges: Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a
public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B) and cheating
(Section 420)
Status: The company was acquitted on 21 December 2017 of any
wrongdoing by a Special CBI Court that was appointed for the
purpose of acquitting the accused.
Other companies named in the charge sheet were:
Loop Telecom
Loop Mobile India
Essar Tele Holding
Essar Group (corporate parent of Essar Tele Holding)
Media role
Main article: Radia tapes controversy
OPEN and Outlook reported that journalists Barkha Dutt (editor
of NDTV) and Vir Sanghvi (editorial director of the Hindustan
Times) knew that corporate lobbyist Nira Radia influenced Raja's
appointment as telecom minister, publicising Radia's phone
conversations with Dutt and Sanghvi when Radia's phone was
tapped by the Income Tax Department. According to critics, Dutt
and Sanghvi knew about the link between the government and the
media industry but delayed reporting the corruption.
Present status:
242
Nearly six years after 122 2G licences were cancelled by the
Supreme Court, a Special Court on Thursday acquitted all accused,
including former Telecom Minister Andimuthu Raja and DMK chief
M Karunanidhi’s daughter, Kanimozhi, who were named as
perpetrators of one of the biggest scams in the history of India. The
court said the prosecution had “miserably failed” to prove any
charge against any of the accused.
“There is no evidence on the record produced before the court
indicating any criminality in the acts allegedly committed by the
accused persons relating to fixation of cut-off date, manipulation of
first-come first-served policy...I have absolutely no hesitation in
holding that the prosecution has miserably failed to prove any
charge against any of the accused, made in its well choreographed
charge-sheet,” OP Saini said in his 1,552-page judgment. The 2G
spectrum scam was jointly investigated by the CBI and the
Enforcement Directorate. The CBI charge-sheet had alleged a loss
of ₹30,984 crore to the exchequer in the allocation of the 122
licences, which were scrapped by the Supreme Court on February
2, 2012. The CBI alleged that A Raja received illegal gratification for
favours shown by him to some of the operators that had received
the licences.
Dismissing the allegations, the judge said that for “the last about
seven years on all working days, summer vacation included, I
religiously sat in the open Court from 10 am to 5 pm, awaiting for
(sic) someone with some legally admissible evidence in his
possession, but all in vain. Not a single soul turned up.”
243
Pandora’s box
The court order could open a Pandora’s box as it raised questions
over the functioning of officers at the Department of Telecom
(DoT), Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office.
For example, the court said it was not Raja, but Pulok Chatterjee, in
consultation with TKA Nair (then top officials at PMO), who had
suppressed the most relevant and controversial part of Raja’s letter
to the then Prime Minister. “Whatever A Raja intended to do
relating to telecom licences was conveyed by him to the Prime
Minister in his letter, but the PMO presented only a partial view to
the then Prime Minister. The record shows that the facts were
misrepresented to the then Prime Minister by the officials of the
PMO and not by A Raja.”
Highlighting the working at the Finance Ministry, the court
observed that “when the time is appropriate, they (finance branch
officials) would keep mum and when things reach a definite stage
or generate heat, they would immediately start raising
unnecessary objections, creating trouble for others that too
without reaching any final conclusion.”
The order also said that most of the mess in the DoT, in the matter
of processing of applications and grant of licences was created by
the officers. “It is the result of their lack of sense of responsibility
and clarity about the way official business is to be conducted. Not
only this, most of the officers have exhibited fickle mindedness and
timidity by disowning the written official record. They even
disowned the record prepared by them and tried to shift the blame
244
to others by making oral statements contrary to official record.” it
said.
Political war
The court verdict gave ammunition to the Congress, which lost the
2014 Lok Sabha elections after the 2G scam was milked by the then
opposition BJP.
“This verdict is both a moral and legal victory for the Congress
Party. We will take this issue up in Parliament,” said former
Telecom Minister and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal.
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