The brain behind the deadline: ‘It was not Raja’:
Context
2G scam verdict
A Raja, not responsible
The Special CBI Court that acquitted former Union Telecom Minister A. Raja has ruled that he was not responsible for either fixing a cut-off date for consideration of applications for Unified Access Services Licences or in altering a press release in a way that favoured two particular companies
What does the judgement say about A Raja’s role?
In his 1,552-page judgment, Special Judge O.P. Saini has absolved Mr. Raja of the charge of conspiracy by rejecting the testimony of senior officers who sought to put the blame on Mr. Raja for introducing September 25, 2007, as the cut-off date for applications and for the deletion of a paragraph from the release that appeared to indicate a change in the spectrum allocation policy
Prosecutions’ argument
It was the prosecution’s case that this cut-off date was suggested by Mr. Raja to accommodate the applications of Swan Telecom and Unitech for grant of UAS licences and allocation of spectrum
So, how the cut-off date was decided?
This date was actually the result of an internal discussion in the department to dispose of a limited number of applications in the first phase, keeping the limited availability of spectrum in mind, the court held
Deletion of a paragraph controversy
- The controversy: It was alleged that Mr. Raja deleted a paragraph in a press release that had been cleared by the Solicitor-General, and this change amounting to a shift in the first-come, first-served policy from consideration on the basis of date of application to date on which payment of entry fee was made
- Court’s view: CBI judge said that I do not find any merit in the submission of the prosecution that amendment in the press release led to redefining the concept of first come, first served on the basis of priority from submission of compliance to LOIs (Letters of Intent) against the established practice of priority from the date of receipt of application. The procedure was changed not by the press release, but after discussions in the department
