2g Case

EGoM sets the ball rolling for spectrum sale

New Delhi: A ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday approved starting the process to auction spectrum which would be freed in the wake of Supreme Court cancelling 122 licenses. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) gave the approval to the process for selecting an auctioneer who will conduct the fresh round of bidding for spectrum as mandated by the apex court. "The EGoM has approved the...  

2G: SC gives new deadline for licence auction

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended time till August 31 for the auction and grant of fresh licences in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation case. The apex court told the Central government that they could not be given much time. "We cannot give you 400 days for sanctioning and granting of fresh licences," said the Supreme Court. The court further ruled that the existing licence owners would...  

2G: SC to hear Swamy's plea against Chidambaram

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Tuesday resume hearing Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy's plea in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam case. The Janata Party president wants Union Home Minister P Chidambaram to be named a co-accused in the case. Swamy had alleged that Chidambaram, who was earlier the Finance Minister, was equally culpable along with former Telecom Minister A Raja in deciding the spectrum pricing and...  

2G case: ED summons Kanimozhi

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has summoned DMK MP Kanimozhi later this week in connection with its probe into alleged financial irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation case. The 43-year-old daughter of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has been asked by the agency to either come herself or send an authorised representative for submission of financial documents and recording of statement on April 26, ED sources said. Kanimozhi...  

2G reference to SC: 6 questions asked by Prez

New Delhi: President Pratibha Singh on Thursday signed the reference on 2G seeking clarity on the verdict of the Supreme Court. This came after the apex court refused to review its decision on the cancellation of the 2G licences. The government had on Tuesday agreed to issue a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court on the apex court's order cancelling 122 2G telecom licences. Here are the six questions that...  

2G: SC to hear Swamy's plea against Chidambaram

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is expected to hear a petition filed by Janta Party president Subramanian Swamy in the 2G case. Swamy has challenged a trial court order that had dismissed his application for making Union Home Minister P Chidambaram an accused in the case. The lower court had dismissed the Janta Party chief's case against Home Minister P Chidambaram in the scam. Swamy has been demanding a CBI...  

2G letters between PM, Raja not processed by DoT

New Delhi: Former Telecom Secretary D S Mathur on Tuesday told a Delhi court that he did not find the Department of Telecom officially processing some key letters on the 2G spectrum allocation issue, exchanged between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and erstwhile Telecom Minister A Raja. Mathur told Special CBI Judge O P Saini that Raja had received one letter from Prime Minister on November 2, 2007 and had written...  

'Raja was told to change 2G licences cut-off date'

New Delhi: Former telecom secretary D S Mathur on Monday told a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court that he had asked then telecom minister A Raja to reconsider the cut-off date for receiving applications for 2G spectrum licences. "I recorded this note after seeing the order of the then minister, dated November 2, 2007, as fixing the date of September 25, 2007 (cut-off date for issuance of licence) may...  

DB Realty moves HC for vacation of attachment

New Delhi: Real estate firm DB Realty, embroiled in the 2G spectrum allocation case, has moved the Delhi High Court for vacation of Rs 223 crore attachment order of the Enforcement Directorate against it under money laundering laws. The Delhi HC has now issued a notice to the ED on the Writ petition filed by the firm and their associates. The agency had attached immovable properties and bank accounts of...  

Joshi must come clean on Mishra's allegations: Congress

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said that a probe should be conducted into Anshuman Mishra's allegations. ...

'Perhaps' PC was FM in Nov 2006: Ex-TRAI chief

New Delhi: Former TRAI chairman Nripendra Misra, while deposing as a prosecution witness in a Delhi court trying the 2G spectrum case, failed on Thursday to recall conclusively if P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister in November 2006. Testifying before Special CBI Judge OP Saini, Misra said he had met the then finance minister, "perhaps" P Chidambaram, on November 27, 2006 and was directed to sent the Telecom Regulatory...  

2G: Notice to CBI on Reliance officials' plea

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the pleas of three officials of the Reliance Group for quashing charges framed against them in the 2G case. Justice ML Mehta sought the response of investigative agency by March 22. Reliance Group managing director Gautam Doshi, group president Surendra Pipara and senior vice president Hari Nayar moved high court challenging the...  

2G: Hearing in mid-March over Chidambaram's role

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear in mid-March a plea seeking a probe into the role of Home Minister P Chidambaram, then the finance minister, in the pricing of 2G spectrum when A Raja was the telecommunications minister. When counsel Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) mentioned the matter, an apex court bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi said its plea has been listed...  

SC ruling on 2G will affect other sectors: Sibal

New Delhi: The Supreme Court judgement cancelling 122 telecom licences allocated on first-come-first-serve basis has ramifications for other sectors like mining where the same principle is adopted, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has said. "I have been saying this repeatedly that the impact of the judgement is far-reaching. It has implications not only on the (telecom) sector but on other sectors as well," Sibal said. The apex court, cancelling licences allocated...  

PMO seeks 2G info ahead of budget session

New Delhi: Bracing for a stinging opposition attack on 2G issue during budget session of Parliament, the Prime Minister's Office has asked the telecom department to give full details on the corruption cases. In a note to DoT, the PMO has asked for the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General including corruption allegations against former minister Dayanidhi Maran. According to official sources, it asked the department to give inputs...  

Raja acted on his own in 2G case: Justice Ganguly

Former Supreme Court judge Ashok Kumar Ganguly says that former Telecom Minsiter A Raja acted unilaterally in the 2G spectrum mess and that his Cabinet colleagues are not to be blamed. Speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate, Justice Ganguly said, "It is not correct to apply the principle of collective Cabinet responsibility in the case relating to the distribution of 2G licenses on a first-come-first-serve basis." Here is the...  

2G: A Raja likely to file review petition in SC

New Delhi: Former Telecom Minister A Raja is expected to file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a review of its judgement in the 2G spectrum licence case which he feels can go against him in the criminal trial. DMK as well as Congress sources said that the jailed former minister might file the petition in the next two-three days on the judgement cancelling 122 licences issued during his...  

2G case: HC reserves order on Chandolia's plea

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on a plea of RK Chandolia, an accused in the 2G spectrum case and former Private Secretary of prime accused A Raja, against the lower court's decision refusing to direct CBI to produce certain documents related to the case. A bench of Justice ML Mehta reserved the order after hearing arguments of the probe agency and Chandolia's counsel. The...  

2G auction should be among new operators: Uninor

New Delhi: New operator Uninor, a joint venture between Telenor of Norway and Unitech, on Monday said the company will participate in 2G spectrum auction but did not rule out exit option from the Indian market. "In principle we will go for auction but I am not saying that whether we will win everything ... So, the option of exit cannot be ruled out," Uninor Managing Director and Telenor's Asia...  

2G: Foreign investors not willing to give up yet

New Delhi: There seems to be no end to the 2G battle any time soon as foreign investors hit by the cancellation of licences have decided to move the court to protect their interests. Three of the four foreign companies, affected by the Supreme Court order, have made it clear that they are not going down without a fight. The clearest statement came from Russia's Sistema, which said, "to safeguard...