On Thursday, the Supreme Court of India, which is monitoring the investigations in to the 2G spectrum scandal, sought response from the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate over accusations that they were going soft on Loop Telecom, the Essar Group and their promoters by not filing charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the 2G case.
“A bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly issued notice to them to also respond on the probe done against the former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran after it was alleged that CBI was not doing anything after registering” a first information report, the Press Trust of India reported.
The court passed the order on an application filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, a nongovernmental organization, which alleged that “CBI’s decision not to book Essar Group and its promoters under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been ‘facilitated’ by the intervention of CBI Director and Law Minister Salman Khurshid,” the Press Trust reported.
Prashant Bhushan, a noted advocate who appeared in the court on behalf of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, said that despite the report of the investigating officer having found evidence against Loop-Essar, the CBI has not charged them under PCA.
The agencies have been asked to file their responses in 10 days. The next hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 20.
Meanwhile, Loop Telecom and Essar Group have moved the Delhi High Court to stop a special CBI court from hearing their case. The companies have argued that because they have not been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the CBI court should not hear their case.
