Scam, or folklore? on 2G case verdict: 

Scam, or folklore? on 2G case verdict: 

Context

2G acquittals call into question the political and investigative narratives of the past decade.

Questions Raised?

What is illegal from the point of view of administrative law may not necessarily be an offence from a criminal court’s perspective.

Backdrop

• The Supreme Court declared in 2012 that the allocation of 2G spectrum by the Congress-led UPA government was illegal and an arbitrary exercise of power
• It went on to cancel all 122 telecom licences allotted to companies in early 2008 during the tenure of A. Raja as Communications Minister

Current

With the trial court’s en masseacquittal of all those arraigned by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the 2G spectrum allocation case, the claim that this was the biggest scam in India’s history lies in tatters

Every ground rejected by SC

Every ground that the CBI had adduced to prove that Mr. Raja manipulated the first-come, first-served system to favour Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless, among others, and helped them make a windfall profit by offloading their stakes, has been rejected by Special Judge O.P. Saini

Immediate Fallout

The immediate fallout is that the DravidaMunnetraKazhagam, to which Mr. Raja belongs, and its national ally, the Congress, will at last be in a position to shake off the perception that they were irredeemably beset by corruption

Lessons to be learnt

There is a lesson for everyone in the long 2G saga:

• Public perception and audit reports cannot be the sole basis for criminal trials
• Investigating agencies must carefully sift the available material before deciding to prosecute

Conclusion

Eliminating graft from public life is not only about making allegations stick during election

time, but also about diligent investigation and efficient prosecution