New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed a status report in the Supreme Court on 2G spectrum scam case. The status report which was submitted in a sealed cover, however, is silent on the alleged role of former telecom minister A Raja, sources have told CNN-IBN.
The CBI claimed in its report that it had examined 8,000 records running into 82,000 pages along with 43 witnesses. The investigating agency also raided 17 companies and Department of Telecom office.
On November 25, the apex court had castigated the CBI on why it had not questioned Raja and the telecom secretary in the case, saying that it was the "minimum expected" of it as the criticism had come from CAG, a constitutional authority.
The two-judge Supreme Court bench of justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly had pulled up the CBI asking why it was "beating around the bush" when "illegality is prima facie evident".
"You said 8,000 documents had been examined still you are beating around the bush. It was minimum (questioning the duo) expected of the CBI," it had said.
CBI had offered to place a status report on Tuesday before the court which also took on record the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report placed by Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) counsel Prashant Bhushan.
"The CAG reports deserved highest respect. We are on the limited point. CAG under Constitution has a very important position. It is an authority set up under the Constitution. If such an authority set up under the constitution gives such a report, any reasonable person will question the Minister and the Secretary," it had said.
The CAG had estimated a "presumptive loss" of around Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the public exchequer due to allocation of spectrum to various allegedly ineligible telecom operators at throw away prices.
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