Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) The Supreme Court Thursday issued notice to the central government on a plea by Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata seeking a copy of the income tax department’s report on its probe into the leak of former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia’s taped conversations.

The apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya, while issuing the notice, asked the government to file its response within three weeks. The case would next come up for hearing March 27.

Tata sought the report by income tax director general so that he could move a plea to make the telecom service providers parties in the case.

The report is believed to have pointed the needle of suspicion towards the service providers for involvement in the tapping of phones.

The government said that there were eight to 10 agencies, including service providers, which were involved in the tapping of telephonic conversations of Radia.

On Feb 2, the government expressed its constraints in parting with the confidential report as investigations into the leak of tapes were still on. The report sought by Tata was given to the court Jan 31 in a sealed cover.

The confidential report was submitted to the apex court in pursuance to the probe by the income tax department into the leak of controversial Radia tapes.

The tax department had undertaken the investigation in the wake of a petition by Tata seeking to restrain media organisations from publishing the transcript of the tapes.

Tata had moved the apex court Nov 29, 2010.

Radia’s phones were put under surveillance by the income tax department after the finance ministry Nov 16, 2007, received an anonymous letter alleging that in a short span of few years she had built a business house worth Rs.300 crore. The complaint also alleged foreign connections of Radia.