Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday declined to entertain a plea seeking investigation against union Communications Minister Kapil Sibal for allegedly favouring a telecom operator by slashing penalty imposed for withdrawing rural connectivity in its circles.

The apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice A.K. Ganguly told senior counsel Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), that his plea did not fall within the issues being adjudged by the court in the 2G spectrum scam.

The court asked Bhushan whether the matter being raised by him was “related to the issue being dealt by it”.

The court made it clear that as of now it was only looking into the culpability of people in the grant of 2G licences in breach of the laid down procedures.

While saying that it could not enlarge the scope of the inquiry in the 2G scam, the court said anybody who was aggrieved by the communications minister’s action and had a locus standi in the case could move the appropriate authority.

Senior counsel Rohinton Nariman, appearing for Sibal, asked the court not to take the petitioner’s affidavit on record and dispose it off. At this, the court said that it was not going to issue any order.

The CPIL in its petition urged the court to take its affidavit on record and order an investigation against the minister.

Addressing a press conference Saturday, Sibal categorically denied he had favoured any telecom company in reducing the penalty imposed for poor quality of service in certain circles.

The court declined Bhushan’s plea seeking the appointment of two independent people of eminence and impeccable integrity possessing the “knowledge of investigation” to monitor the investigations being carried out by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Justice Ganguly said it may amount to outsourcing what the court was doing.

When Bhushan pressed his plea, the judges said that they could afford him a hearing but made it clear that at this point of time they were not inclined to interfere with the investigation being carried out by the CBI and the ED.

“It is not advisable to interfere with the investigation being carried by the CBI and the ED.

“Going by the status report, we have observed that the investigation by the CBI and the ED are in the right direction and any intervention may jeopardize it.”

The court was told that the ED has so far filed 10 complaints and in one case it had issued show cause notice to a service provider.

The court was told by ED’s senior counsel K.K. Venugopal that the probe agency would complete within a month the attachment proceedings in respect of these 10 complaints, including the Rs.200 crore allegedly paid to Kalaignar TV by some of the scam accused.

Venugopal said that the proceedings could start only after the CBI filed its second supplementary charge sheet.

In a contempt of court proceeding related to the scam case, the court fixed Aug 4 for the hearing against Sahara India managing director Subroto Roy and two other senior employees of the Sahara group.

The ED would file its rejoinder to the reply filed by the three alleged contemnors Tuesday.

The apex court May 6 issued a contempt of court notice to the three on a petition by ED officer Rajeshwar Singh alleging interference by them in the ongoing probe into the 2G scam.