The 2G spectrum case was a political controversy in which politicians and private officials of the
United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...
coalition government
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
were involved in selling or allotting 122
2G spectrum licenses on conditions that provided an advantage to specific telecom operators.
A. Raja, then Telecom Minister, was accused of selling 2G spectrum licenses at a very low cost which resulted in the loss of ₹1,760 billion (US$25 billion) in government revenue. Raja was also accused of not following rules and regulations as well as not recognizing any advice from the Ministries of
Finance and
Law and Justice of India while allotting 2G spectrum licenses to telecom operators. Series of allegations were made on allotting 2G spectrum licenses including allegations from
Central Bureau of Investigation after investigating the case alleging Raja for intentionally advancing the cut-off date (from 01/10/2007 to 25/09/2007) to favour some specific firms (
Unitech Wireless and Swan Telecom), which were allegedly ineligible for applying for telecom licenses, in return for bribes.
On 21 December 2017, the special court in New Delhi after thorough examination of the case and hearing what the CBI had to say, acquitted all accused in the 2G spectrum case including prime-accused Raja and Kanimozhi.
The court ruled that this case was baseless. As per the judgement, "Some people created a scam by artfully arranging a few selected facts and exaggerating things beyond recognition to astronomical levels."
On 19 and 20 March 2018, the
Enforcement Directorate
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India. It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Gover ...
and the CBI respectively filed appeals against this verdict in the
Delhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi ( IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S ...
.
In Feb 2019, Justice Najmi Waziri ordered the defendants to plant 3,000 trees each for seeking more time to file their responses on the appeal challenging their acquittal in the case.
On 5 October 2020, the High Court will begin day-to-day hearings, which was later shifted to 14 January 2021.
Background
India is divided into 22 telecommunications zones, with 281 zonal licenses. In 2008, 122 new
second-generation 2G Unified Access Service (UAS) licenses were granted to telecom companies on a first-come, first-served basis at the 2001 price. According to the CBI charge sheet, several laws were violated and bribes were paid to favour certain firms in granting 2G spectrum licenses. According to a
CAG audit, licenses were granted to ineligible corporations, those with no experience in the telecom sector (such as Unitech and Swan Telecom)
and those who had concealed relevant information. Although former
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Manmohan Singh advised Raja to allot 2G spectrum transparently and revise the license fee in a November 2007 letter, Raja rejected many of Singh's recommendations.
In another letter that month, the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance.
Lists of current ministries of finance
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Finance and Ec ...
expressed procedural concerns to the
DOT;
these were ignored, and the cut-off date was moved forward from 1 October to 25 September 2007.
On 25 September 2007 the DOT announced on its website that applicants filing between 3:30 and 4:30 pm that day would be granted licenses.
Although the policy for awarding licences was
first-come, first-served
Queueing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues. A queueing model is constructed so that queue lengths and waiting time can be predicted. Queueing theory is generally considered a branch of operations research because the ...
, which was introduced during Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government, Raja changed the rules so it applied to compliance with conditions instead of the application itself.
On 10 January 2008, companies were given only a few hours to supply Letters of Intent and payments; some executives were allegedly tipped off by Raja. Although the corporation was ineligible, Swan Telecom was granted a license
for and sold a 45-percent share to the UAE-based
Etisalat for .
Unitech Wireless (a subsidiary of the
Unitech Group
Unitech Limited is an Indian real estate investment company headquartered in New Delhi, ) obtained a license for , selling a 60-percent share for to Norway-based
Telenor.
The following is a list of companies who received 2G licenses during Andimuthu Raja's term as telecom minister; the licenses were later cancelled by the Supreme Court:
Accused parties
The selling of the licenses drew attention to three groups: politicians and bureaucrats, who had the authority to sell licenses; corporations buying the licenses, and professionals who mediated between the politicians and corporations.
Politicians
The following charges were filed by the CBI and the
Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation
The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation is the law enforcement agency under the Ministry of Finance responsible for investigating violations of India's tax laws, including fraud, evasion and money laundering. The controlling authori ...
in the Special CBI Court.
A. Raja
*''Political career'': Four-time
DMK member of Parliament (currently member of
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
from
Nilgiris
The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...
, Tamil Nadu), former Union Minister of State for Rural Development (1999) and Health and Family Welfare (2003), former Union Cabinet Minister for Environment and Forests (2004) and Communication and Information Technology (2007 and 2009)
*''Allegation'': A joint investigative report by the CBI and the Income Tax Department alleged that Raja may have received a bribe for moving the cut-off date for spectrum applications forward.
The changed deadline eliminated many applications, enabling Raja to favour a few applicants.
The agencies also alleged that he used accounts in his wife's name in Mauritius and Seychelles banks for the kickbacks. A CBI charge sheet alleged that Raja conspired with the accused and arbitrarily refined the first-come, first-served policy to ensure that Swan and Unitech received licences.
Instead of auctioning 2G spectrum, he sold it at the 2001 rate.
*''Charges'': Criminal breach of trust by a public servant (section 409), criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under the
Prevention of Corruption Act
Prevention of Corruption Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom relating to corruption and bribery. The Bill for an Act with this short title will have been known as a Prevent ...
for accepting illegal gratification.
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 2 February 2011.
Applied for bail on 9 May 2012, which was granted on 15 May.
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi
*''Political career'': Youngest Daughter of five-time Chief Minister of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
M. Karunanidhi. DMK member of Parliament, representing Tamil Nadu in the
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
till 2019, currently member of
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
from
Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and he ...
.
*''Allegations'': According to the CBI charge sheet, Kanimozhi owns 20 percent of family-owned
Kalaignar TV
Kalaignar is an Indian general entertainment satellite television channel based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The channel was launched on 15 September 2007 as Kalaignar in respect of former Chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi. Malaysia ...
; her stepmother, Dayalu Ammal, owns 60 percent of the channel.
The CBI alleges that Kanimozhi was the "active brain" behind the channel
and conspired with Raja to coerce DB Realty cofounder
Shahid Balwa to funnel to Kalaignar TV.
Kanimozhi was in regular contact with Raja about the launch of Kalaignar TV.
Raja advanced the channel's cause, facilitating its registration with the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and adding it to
DTH operator
TATA Sky
Tata Play (stylised as TΛTΛ PLΛY, formerly TΛTΛ , sky) is an Indian direct broadcast satellite (DTH) service provider using MPEG-4 digital compression technology, transmitting using INSAT-4A and GSAT-10 satellite. Incorporated in 2005; i ...
's lineup. Kanimozhi was charged with tax evasion by the Income Tax Department in Chennai.
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant and criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471), and booked under the
Prevention of Corruption Act
Prevention of Corruption Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom relating to corruption and bribery. The Bill for an Act with this short title will have been known as a Prevent ...
.
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 20 May 2011. Granted bail on 28 November 2011, after 188 days in custody. On 21 December 2017, she has been acquitted by a Special CBI Court.
Bureaucrats
A number of bureaucrats were named in the CBI charge sheet filed in its Special Court.
Siddharth Behura
*''Position'': Telecom Secretary when the licenses were granted.
*''Allegations'': According to the CBI charge sheet, Behura conspired with Raja and several others. When the application deadline time was declared, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm Behura closed counters to block other telecom companies.
*''Charges'': Criminal breach of trust by a public servant (Section 409), criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act for accepting illegal gratuities.
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 2 February 2011
and granted bail on 9 May 2012, and finally acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a Special CBI Court for lack of convincing evidence.
On 10 July 2012
joint parliamentary committee deposition, Behura blamed Raja for most of the decisions related to 2G spectrum auctions.
RK Chandolia
*''Position'': Raja's private secretary when the licenses were granted.
*''Allegations'': According to the CBI charge sheet Chandolia, like Behura, conspired with Raja and several others; when the application deadline time was declared from 3:30 to 4:30 pm, Chandolia joined Behura in shutting counters to physically block other telecom companies.
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B), cheating (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 2 February 2011.
Although he was granted bail by the special CBI court on 1 December 2011, the following day the High Court took ''
suo motu
In law, ''sua sponte'' (Latin: "of his, her, its or their own accord") or ''suo motu'' ("on its own motion") describes an act of authority taken without formal prompting from another party. The term is usually applied to actions by a judge taken wi ...
'' notice of newspaper reports of the bail and stayed it. Chandolia appealed to the Supreme Court, and on 9 May 2012 the court upheld the bail grant. He was acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a Special CBI Court for lack of substantial evidence.
Executives
A number of executives were accused in the CBI charge sheet.
Sanjay Chandra
*''Position'': Former
Unitech Wireless managing director
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Allegations'': Former CBI prosecutor AK Singh was implicated in a taped conversation sharing legal strategy and privileged information with Chandra.
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 20 April 2011
and granted bail on 24 November,
As of 21 December 2017 he has been acquitted by a special CBI Court.
Umashankar
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Allegations'': Former CBI prosecutor AK Singh was implicated in a taped conversation sharing legal strategy and privileged information with Umashankar.
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 20 April 2008
and granted bail same day. As of 21 December 2017 he has been acquitted by a special CBI Court.
Gautam Doshi
*''Position'': Managing director,
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
Reliance may refer to:
Companies
* Reliance Controls, an American electrical products company founded in 1909 in Wisconsin
* Reliance Home Comfort, a Canadian water heater rental and HVAC service company
* Reliance Industries, an Indian con ...
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 20 April 2011
and granted bail on 24 November 2011.
As of 21 December 2017 he has been acquitted by a special CBI Court.
Hari Nair
*''Position'': Senior vice-president,
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
Reliance may refer to:
Companies
* Reliance Controls, an American electrical products company founded in 1909 in Wisconsin
* Reliance Home Comfort, a Canadian water heater rental and HVAC service company
* Reliance Industries, an Indian con ...
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 20 April 2011
and granted bail on 24 November 2011.
As of 21 December 2017 he has been acquitted by a special CBI Court.
Surendra Pipara
*''Position'': Senior vice-president,
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
Reliance may refer to:
Companies
* Reliance Controls, an American electrical products company founded in 1909 in Wisconsin
* Reliance Home Comfort, a Canadian water heater rental and HVAC service company
* Reliance Industries, an Indian con ...
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 20 April 2011
and granted bail on 24 November 2011.
As of 21 December 2017 he has been acquitted by a special CBI Court.
Vinod Goenka
*''Position'': Managing director, DB Realty and Swan Telecom
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B), cheating (Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 20 April 2011
and granted bail on 24 November 2011.
As of 21 December 2017 he has been acquitted by a special CBI Court.
Shahid Balwa
*''Position'':
Corporate promoter
A corporate promoter is a firm or person who does the preliminary work related to the formation of a company, including its promotion, incorporation, and flotation, and solicits people to invest money in the company, usually when it is being ...
, DB Realty and Swan Telecom
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 8 February 2011
and granted bail on 29 November 2011, acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a special CBI Court.
Asif Balwa
*''Position'': Director, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 29 March 2011
and granted bail on 28 November 2011
Acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a special CBI Court.
Rajiv Agarwal
*''Position'': Director, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 29 March 2011
and granted bail on 28 November 2011.
Acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a special CBI Court.
Sharath Kumar
*''Position'': Managing director, Kalaignar TV
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 20 May 2011
and granted bail on 28 November 2011.
Acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a special CBI Court.
Ravi Ruia
*''Position'': Vice-chair,
Essar Group
Essar Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, founded by Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia in 1969. As Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), the company controls a number of assets across the core sectors of energy (oil refining, oil a ...
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B) and cheating (Section 420)
*''Status'': Acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a special CBI Court.
Anshuman Ruia
*''Position'': Director,
Essar Group
Essar Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, founded by Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia in 1969. As Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), the company controls a number of assets across the core sectors of energy (oil refining, oil a ...
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B) and cheating (Section 420).
*''Status'': Acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a special CBI Court.
Vikas Saraf
*''Position'': Director of strategy and planning,
Essar Group
Essar Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, founded by Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia in 1969. As Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), the company controls a number of assets across the core sectors of energy (oil refining, oil a ...
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B) and cheating (Section 420 of the
Indian Penal Code
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established ...
)
*''Status'': Acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a special CBI Court.
Ishwari Prasad Khaitan
*''Position'': Corporate promoter,
Loop Telecom
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy under (Section 120 B) and cheating (Section 420)
*''Status'': Acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a special CBI Court.
Kiran Khaitan
*''Position'': Corporate promoter, Loop Telecom
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B) and cheating (Section 420)
*''Status'': Acquitted on 21 December 2017 by a special CBI Court.
Karim Morani
*''Position'': Corporate promoter and director, Cineyug Films
*''Allegations'': According to the Income Tax Department charge sheet, Morani-owned Cineyug Films was a part of the route used by Shahid Balwa to funnel
illegally to Kalaignar TV.
DB Realty corporate promoters
Shahid Balwa and
Vinod Goenka
Vinod Goenka is an Indian real-estate developer. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of DB Realty Ltd, a large real estate development companies in Mumbai, India.
His net worth was US$1.18 billion as per ''Forbes'' magazine in 2010. He s ...
transferred to Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables, where Balwa's younger brother Asif was a director.
Kusegaon then transferred to Cineyug Films, and Morani transferred it to Kalaignar TV.
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420), forgery (Sections 468 and 471) and fabrication of evidence (Section 193); booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act
*''Status'': Arrested by the CBI on 30 May 2011 and granted bail on 28 November 2011.
Promptly acquitted on 29 December 2017 by a "special CBI Court".
Corporations
Several companies were named in the CBI charge sheet.
Unitech Wireless
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), cheating (Section 420) and forgery (Sections 468 and 471)
*''Status'': The company was acquitted on 21 December 2017 of any wrongdoing by Special CBI Court.
Reliance Telecom
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B) and cheating (Section 420)
*''Status'': As of December 2017, acquitted in 2G spectrum case.
Swan Telecom
*''Charges'': Criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant, criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B) and cheating (Section 420)
*''Status'': The company was acquitted on 21 December 2017 of any wrongdoing by a Special CBI Court that was appointed for the purpose of acquitting the accused.
Media role
''
OPEN
Open or OPEN may refer to:
Music
* Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
* The Open (band), English indie rock band
* ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969
* ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999
* ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001
* ''Open'' ( ...
'' and ''
Outlook
Outlook or The Outlook may refer to:
Computing
* Microsoft Outlook, an e-mail and personal information management software product from Microsoft
* Outlook.com, a web mail service from Microsoft
* Outlook on the web, a suite of web applications ...
'' reported that journalists
Barkha Dutt
Barkha Dutt is an Indian television journalist and author. She has been a reporter and news anchor at NDTV and Tiranga TV. She currently runs her own digital news channel called 'MoJo Story'. She is also an opinion columnist with ''The Hindus ...
(editor of
NDTV
New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...
) and
Vir Sanghvi
Vir Sanghvi (born 5 July 1956) is an Indian print and television journalist, author, columnist and talk show host. He has been a member of many professional, academic and government bodies including the National Integration Council. Currently, h ...
(editorial director of the ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'') knew that corporate lobbyist
Nira Radia
Niira Radia is a former corporate lobbyist whose taped telephone conversations implicated her influence in the allocation of key ministries in the Government of India in 2009. Discussion of the tapes resulted in the "Radia tapes controversy", wh ...
influenced Raja's appointment as telecom minister,
publicising Radia's phone conversations with Dutt and Sanghvi when Radia's phone was tapped by the Income Tax Department. According to critics, Dutt and Sanghvi knew about the link between the government and the media industry but delayed reporting the corruption.
Chronology
The
Centre for Public Interest Litigation
The Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) is an Indian non-governmental organisation that conducts litigation on matters of public interest. The CPIL was established by late Justice V. M. Tarkunde, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Ind ...
filed the first petition against the Union of India for irregularities in awarding 2G spectrum licenses. The petition alleged that the government lost $15.53 billion by issuing spectrum in 2008 based on 2001 prices, and by not following a competitive bidding process. This led to further petitions, and an investigation began in 2010.
2007
* ''May'': A Raja becomes Telecom Minister.
* ''August'': Allotment of 2G spectrum and Universal Access Service (UAS) licences by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) begins.
* ''25 September'': The Telecom Ministry issues a press release that its deadline for application is 1 October.
* ''1 October'': DoT receives 575 applications for UAS licences from 46 companies.
* ''2 November'': The prime minister writes to Raja, directing him to ensure the allotment of 2G spectrum in a fair and transparent manner and to ensure that the licence fee was revised. Raja rejects many of the prime minister's recommendations.
* ''22 November'': In a letter to the DoT, the Finance Ministry raises procedural concerns. Its demand for a review is rejected.
2008
* ''10 January'': The DoT decides to issue licences on first-come, first-served basis, advancing the cut-off date from 1 October to 25 September and announcing on its website that those applying between 3.30 and 4.30 pm would be granted licences in accordance with policy.
* Total collection from sale of 122 licenses was about 92 billion.
* Swan Telecom, Unitech and Tata Teleservices sell shares at much higher prices to Etisalat, Telenor and DoCoMo, respectively.
2009
* ''4 May'': A telecom-watchdog NGO files a complaint with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on illegalities in spectrum allocation to Loop Telecom.
* ''19 May'': Another complaint is filed with the CVC by Arun Agarwal, highlighting the low-cost spectrum grant to Swan Telecom. The CVC directs the CBI to investigate irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum.
* ''1 July'': Responding to a petition from S-Tel, the Delhi High Court rules the advancement of the cut-off date illegal.
* ''20 October'': The CBI registers a case, filing a
First Information Report
__NOTOC__
A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commissio ...
against unknown officers of the DoT and unknown private persons and companies under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
* ''22 October'': The
Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation
The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation is the law enforcement agency under the Ministry of Finance responsible for investigating violations of India's tax laws, including fraud, evasion and money laundering. The controlling authori ...
raids DoT offices.
* ''16 November'': The CBI investigates a wiretapped conversation by corporate lobbyist Nira Radia to learn the involvement of middlemen in the grant of spectrum to telecom companies, seeking information from the Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation about Radia and her company.
2010
* ''13 March'': The Supreme Court upholds the Delhi High Court ruling that the cutoff-date advancement was illegal.
* ''31 March'': According to the Comptroller and Auditor General, there were large-scale irregularities in spectrum allocation.
* ''2 April'': CBI Deputy Inspector General of Investigations Vineet Agarwal and
Indian Revenue Service
The Indian Revenue Service (IAST: ), often abbreviated as IRS, is an Indian government agency that is primarily responsible for collecting and administering direct and indirect taxes. As a central civil service under Group A of the executiv ...
Director General of Income Tax Investigations Milap Jain, who were investigating the case, are transferred; Jain becomes Director General of International Taxation.
* ''6 May'': Telephone conversation between Raja and Niira Radia, recorded by the
Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation
The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation is the law enforcement agency under the Ministry of Finance responsible for investigating violations of India's tax laws, including fraud, evasion and money laundering. The controlling authori ...
, made public. the
Centre for Public Interest Litigation
The Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) is an Indian non-governmental organisation that conducts litigation on matters of public interest. The CPIL was established by late Justice V. M. Tarkunde, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Ind ...
petitions the Delhi High Court for a special investigation of the case.
* ''25 May'': Petition dismissed by the court.
* ''August'': Dismissal appealed to the Supreme Court.
* ''18 August'': High Court refuses to order the prime minister to rule on a request by Janata Party chief
Subramanian Swamy
Subramanian Swamy (born 15 September 1939) is an Indian politician, economist and statistician. Before joining politics, he was a professor of Mathematical Economics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He is known for his Hindu n ...
to prosecute Raja.
* ''13 September'': The Supreme Court asks the government and Raja to reply within 10 days to three petitions filed by the CPIL and others alleging a scam in granting telecom licences in 2008.
* ''24 September'': Swamy petitions the Supreme Court to order the PM to prosecute Raja.
* ''27 September'': The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation informs the Supreme Court of a probe of firms suspected to have violated the
Foreign Exchange Management Act
The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), is an Act of the Parliament of India "to consolidate and amend the law relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly d ...
, saying it cannot confirm or deny Raja's involvement.
* ''8 October'': The Supreme Court asks the government to respond to the Comptroller and Auditor General report about the case.
* ''21 October'': Draft reports from the CAG are presented to the Supreme Court.
* ''29 October'': The Supreme Court criticises the CBI for its slowness in investigating the case.
* ''10 November'': The CAG submits a report on 2G spectrum to the government, stating a loss of to the exchequer.
* ''11 November'': The DoT files a Supreme Court affidavit that the CAG lacked the authority to question the 2008 policy decision.
* ''14 November'': Raja resigns as telecom minister.
* ''15 November'': Kapil Sibal placed in charge of Telecom Ministry.
* ''20 November'': Affidavit on behalf of the PM filed in Supreme Court rejecting the charge of inaction on Swamy's complaint.
* ''22 November'': The CBI and the Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation tell the SC they will file a charge sheet within three months, and the CBI says it will investigate the role of Niira Radia.
* ''24 November'': The SC reserves verdict on Swamy's request to the PM to prosecute Raja.
* ''25 November'': The SC criticises the CBI for not questioning Raja.
* ''29 November'': The CBI files a status report on the probe.
* ''30 November'': The SC questions the
Central Vigilance Commission
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an apex Indian governmental body created in 1964 to address governmental corruption. In 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC. It has the status of an autonomous body, f ...
's P. J. Thomas' fitness to supervise the CBI probe, since he was Telecom Secretary at that time.
* ''1 December'': The SC orders the original tapes of conversations by Radia. Raja questions the CAG findings.
* ''2 December'': The government supplies Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation tapes to the SC, which criticises Raja for ignoring the PM's advice to delay the spectrum allocation.
* ''8 December'': SC favours including 2001 (when first-come, first-served was the norm for spectrum allocation) in the probe period and asks the government to consider a special court. The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation reports a money trail covering 10 countries, including Mauritius.
* ''14 December'': PIL filed in SC, seeking the cancellation of new telecom licences and 2G spectrum allocated under Raja.
* ''15 December'': Swamy petitions a Delhi court for his inclusion as a public prosecutor, saying Raja favoured "ineligible" companies Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless in allocating spectrum.
* ''16 December'': The SC decides to monitor the CBI inquiry.
2011
* ''4 January'': Swamy petitions the SC for cancellation of the licenses.
* ''10 January'': Supreme Court notifies the government of Swamy's petition, and issues notices to 11 companies which allegedly did not fulfill the roll-out obligations or were ineligible.
* ''30 January'': The government's decision to regularise the licenses of companies which failed to meet the deadline is challenged in the Supreme Court.
* ''2 February'': Raja, former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura and Raja's former personal secretary, R. K. Chandolia, are arrested.
* ''8 February'': Raja is remanded to two more days of CBI custody, and Behura and Chandolia are placed in judicial custody. Swan Telecom corporate promoter Shahid Usman Balwa is arrested.
* ''10 February'': The Supreme Court asks the CBI to investigate corporations which were beneficiaries of the spectrum allocation. Raja and Balwa are remanded to CBI custody for four more days by a special CBI court.
* ''14 February'': Raja's custody is extended by three days, and Balwa's for four.
* ''17 February'': Raja is sent to Tihar Jail under judicial custody.
* ''18 February'': The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation questions Kani Mozhi at its Chennai headquarters.
* ''25 February'': The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation tells a Delhi court that Balwa facilitated transactions to Kalaignar TV.
* ''28 February'': Raja requests video-conferenced judicial proceedings, saying that he is threatened by other inmates.
* ''1 March'': The CBI tells the SC that 63 people are under investigation. Raja appears in CBI court via video-conference.
* ''11 March'': The Delhi High Court establishes a special court. Balwa is also allowed to appear via video-conference.
* ''17 March'': The SC reserves judgment on licence cancellations, rejecting corporate claims that
estoppel cannot be applied to protect illegality.
* ''29 March'': The SC allows the CBI to file its
chargesheet on 2 April instead of 31 March. Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal are arrested.
* ''2 April'': The CBI files its first chargesheet.
[chargesheet against A Raja & Shahid Balwa">]
* ''25 April'': The CBI files a second chargesheet, and Kanimozhi, Sharad Kumar and Karim Morani are summoned.
* ''6 May'': Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar appear, requesting bail, and Morani requests an appearance exemption on medical grounds.
The SC issues a contempt of court notice to
Sahara India Pariwar
Sahara India Pariwar (''pariwar'' being Hindi for "family") is an Indian conglomerate headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. The group operates business sectors such as finance, infrastructure & housing, real estate, sports, power, man ...
managing director
Subrata Roy and two others for alleged interference in the
Directorate General of Economic Enforcement
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India. It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Gover ...
investigation.
* ''7 May'': The special CBI court reserves judgment on Kanimozhi and Kumar's bail requests.
* ''14 May'': The special CBI court postpones judgment on the bail pleas for 20 May.
* ''20 May'': The special court refuses Kanimozhi and Kumar's bail requests, ordering their arrest to prevent witness-tampering.
* ''8 June'': Delhi HC judge
Ajit Bharihoke
Ajit Bharihoke is a former judge of the Delhi High Court. He is known for presiding over several high-profile cases such as Bofors Scandal, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha bribery case, St Kitts case, Lakhubhai Pathak case, Urea Scam.
Early life, educa ...
again refuses bail Kanimozhi and Kumar's bail requests.
* ''20 June'': The SC refuses Kanimozhi's bail request.
* ''25 July'': Arguments begin, with Raja wanting to summon the prime minister and former finance minister P. Chidambaram as witnesses.
* ''26 August'': The special CBI court allows Subramanian Swamy to argue his own case, primarily to address possible loopholes in its investigation.
* ''30 August'': The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation freezes accounts and
attaches properties worth belonging to five companies (primarily related to DB Realty under the
Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)).
*''1 September'': The
Enforcement Directorate
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India. It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Gover ...
files a status report in Supreme Court of a
Foreign Exchange Management Act
The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), is an Act of the Parliament of India "to consolidate and amend the law relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly d ...
violation of 100 billion.
* ''15 September'': Swamy requests that P. Chidambaram should be charged.
* ''22 September'': The CBI defends Chidambaram in the SC, blaming the DoT.
* ''26 September'': The CBI requests criminal-breach-of-trust charges for Raja, Chandolia and Behura.
* ''19 October'': The CBI files a
First Information Report
__NOTOC__
A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commissio ...
against Maran and his brother in the
Aircel
Aircel Ltd. was an Indian mobile network operator headquartered in Mumbai that offered voice and 2G and 3G data services. Maxis Communications held a 74% stake and Sindya Securities and Investments held the remaining 26%. Aircel was founde ...
-
Maxis
Maxis is an American video game developer and a division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by EA in 1997. Maxis is best known for its simulation games, including '' The Sims ...
deal.
* ''10 October'': The SC reserves judgment on Swamy's request for a probe of Home Minister Chidambaram's role in the matter. The CBI arrests former telecom minister and
DMK leader
Dayanidhi Maran
Dayanidhi Murasoli Maran (born 5 December 1966) is an Indian politician and one of the prominent members of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party. He was elected thrice as a Member of Parliament to Lok Sabha from Chennai Central constituency during ...
and his brother,
Kalanithi Maran
Kalanithi Murasoli Maran is an Indian billionaire media mogul who is the chairman and founder of the Sun Group. He owns television channels, newspapers, weeklies, FM radio stations, DTH services, a cricket team (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and a mov ...
.
* ''22 October'': The special CBI court finds ''prima facie'' evidence to try the 17 accused (including Raja) on charges including criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, cheating and forgery.
* ''3 November'': The special CBI court dismisses bail requests of all eight applicants, including Kanimozhi.
* ''8 November'': The special court orders CBI to provide Swamy with copies of files on equity sales by telecom companies in its investigation of P. Chidambaram's involvement.
* ''9 November'': The Delhi HC refuses bail to Karim Morani on health grounds, promising a ruling to the CBI on five other bail requests by 1 December.
* ''11 November'': Trial of the 17 accused begins in the Patiala House special CBI court.
* ''14 November'': The
United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...
government asks the SC to restrain Swamy from publicly accusing the UPA leadership, especially
Home Minister
The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...
P Chidambaram and UPA chair
Sonia Gandhi.
* ''22 November'': The special court moves the trial to the Tihar jail, after a Delhi high-court order.
* ''23 November'': The SC grants bail to five corporate executives: Sanjay Chandra of Unitech Wireless, Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom and the Reliance Group's Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nayar.
* ''28 November'': The
Delhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi ( IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S ...
grants bail to DMK MP Kanimozhi and four others: Karim Morani, Sharad Kumar, Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal, upholding the principle of parity under
Section 144 Unlawful assembly is a legal term to describe a group of people with the mutual intent of deliberate disturbance of the peace. If the group is about to start an act of disturbance, it is termed a rout; if the disturbance is commenced, it is then ter ...
of the
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...
in a SC order.
* ''29 November'': The special court grants bail to Shahid Balwa, citing the principle of parity; the SC and HC had granted bail to 10 other accused parties.
* ''1 December'': The special court grants bail to Raja's former private secretary, R. K. Chandolia, ordering him not to visit the DoT without prior court permission.
* ''2 December'': Claiming ''
suo motu
In law, ''sua sponte'' (Latin: "of his, her, its or their own accord") or ''suo motu'' ("on its own motion") describes an act of authority taken without formal prompting from another party. The term is usually applied to actions by a judge taken wi ...
'', the HC stays trial-court bail granted to R. K. Chandolia.
* ''7 December'': The SC stays the HC's ''suo motu'' order against Chandolia's bail request.
* ''8 December'': The special CBI court accepts Swamy's request to summon Chidambaram as a witness and question two witnesses: senior CBI and Finance Ministry officials.
* ''12 December'': The CBI files a third chargesheet, naming
Essar Group
Essar Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, founded by Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia in 1969. As Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), the company controls a number of assets across the core sectors of energy (oil refining, oil a ...
corporate promoters
Ravi Ruia
Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia, commonly referred to as the Ruia Brothers, are Indian billionaires, and the owners of Essar Group, founded in 1969.
In 2012, ''Forbes'' named the Ruia brothers as the world's richest Indians with a net worth of US$7 ...
, his son Anshuman Ruia and its director of strategy and planning, Vikas Saraf, and
Loop Telecom promoters Kiran Khaitan and her husband, I P Khaitan. It also charges
Loop Mobile India, its subsidiary Loop Telecom and
Essar Tele Holding.
* ''16 December'': The HC rejects the bail request of Siddharth Behura: "He was the 'perpetrator' of the illegal designs of Raja and would not claim benefit of parity with 10 others released on bail".
2012
* ''2 February'': The Supreme Court cancels the 122 licenses issued by Raja and imposes a ₹50 million ($1,018,122) fine on Unitech, Swan and Tata Teleservices and a ₹5 million fine on Loop Telecom Pvt Ltd, S-Tel, Allianz Infratech and Sistema Shyam Tele Services. The SC requested a trial-court ruling about whether Home Minister
P Chidambaram should be charged.
* ''4 February'': The special court, under justice O.P Saini, dismisses Swamy's request to charge Chidambram.
* ''8 February'': The Enforcement Directorate and the Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation charge DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran with
money laundering and his brother,
Kalanithi Maran
Kalanithi Murasoli Maran is an Indian billionaire media mogul who is the chairman and founder of the Sun Group. He owns television channels, newspapers, weeklies, FM radio stations, DTH services, a cricket team (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and a mov ...
, for allegedly receiving about 5.5 billion illegally in the Aircel-Maxis deal.
* ''9 February'': Essar Group and Loop Telecom appeal their special-court subpoenas to the Supreme Court.
*''15 February'': The Supreme Court refuses an interim stay on the 22 February summonses of Essar Group, Loop Telecom and their officials by the special court.
*''22 February'': The CBI files a complaint with the CVC about witness-tampering by the Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation, allegedly at the behest of DMK Minister of State for Finance
SS Palanimanickam. Swamy said he would notify the Supreme Court.
*''23 February'': Swamy petitions the Supreme Court to overturn the trial-court dismissal of his request to charge Union Home Minister
P. Chidambaram
Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee ...
.
*''2 March'': The government of India files a
review petition In India, a binding decision of the Supreme Court/ High Court can be reviewed in Review Petition. The parties aggrieved on any order of the Supreme Court on any apparent error can file a review petition. Taking into consideration the principle of ...
in Supreme Court of the court's 2 February order cancelling the 122 licenses,
questioning the court's authority to supersede the first-come, first-served policy but not challenging the validity of the cancellations. Raja and Sistema (majority shareholder in
MTS India
Mobile TeleSystems India (MTS India) was a telecommunications company headquartered in Delhi, India. It was a joint venture and Indian subsidiary of the Russian mobile operator MTS. The company provided wireless voice, broadband Internet, mess ...
,
Uninor
Telenor (India) Communications Private Limited, formerly known as Uninor, was an Indian mobile network operator. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor Group. In February 2017, Telenor Group a ...
and other telecom companies) also file a SC review petition.
*''4 April'': Except for the government of India's partial review petition, the Supreme Court dismisses all 10 review petitions.
Companies dismissed include Videocon Telecommunications, S Tel, Sistema Shyam Teleservices, Tata Teleservices, Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu), Etisalat DB Telecom and Idea Cellular.
*''12 April'': The government requests an
advisory opinion
An advisory opinion is an opinion issued by a court or a commission like an election commission that does not have the effect of adjudicating a specific legal case, but merely advises on the constitutionality or interpretation of a law. Some cou ...
from the Supreme Court on issues arising from its 2 February ruling.
*''9 May'': The Supreme Court grants bail to Siddharth Behura; and upheld RK Chandolia's bail. Raja requests bail.
*''15 May'': Bail granted to Raja after 15 months, on condition that he have court permission to visit
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
.
*''6 June'': The special court allows Raja to visit Tamil Nadu.
*''3 July'': Briefing the
joint parliamentary committee probing the case, the Enforcement Directorate said it has enough evidence to convict DMK chief
Karunanidhi's wife and daughter, Kanimozhi.
*''31 July'': Former DoT senior official A. K. Srivastava confirmed the CBI's allegation in his testimony, and Raja (as telecom minister) was the final authority on policy matters. In an earlier statement to CBI, he said that Raja had recorded the cut—off date of 1 October 2007 in a DoT file.
*''1 August'': The Supreme Court, in its advisory opinion on the 2G judgment, says that the implementation of the first-come, first-served policy was flawed. According to the
Chief Justice, "The moment you change the criterion and distort the policy, it ceases to be FCFS policy. If you insist on making payment at the last minute after changing the cut-off date, then it is not FCFS, it is an out-of-turn policy."
*''3 August'': In accordance with a Supreme Court directive, the government of India revises the spectrum value to ;
this discredits the zero-loss theory and illustrates the revenue loss calculated by the CAG.
*''9 August'': The government again requests an extension from the Supreme Court (this time to 12 November) of the deadline to begin auctioning spectrum licences. After cancelling 122 licences in February, the court had given it four months to re-auction them (which had been extended to 31 August).
*''11 November'': After one year of trial, 77 of 154 witnesses have been
deposed
Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Med ...
.
2013
* ''20 April:'' Communist Party of India senior MP
Gurudas Dasgupta
Gurudas Dasgupta (3 November 1936 – 31 October 2019) was an Indian politician and a leader of the Communist Party of India. In the 1950s and 60s, he held several offices as a student leader. Later he was a member of Rajya Sabha for three term ...
accuses
Manmohan Singh of "dereliction of duty", alleging that the PM was aware of irregularities in the allocation of telecom licences. According to Dasgupta, in a November 2007 letter Kamal Nath advised the Prime Minister to establish a group of ministers to allocate spectrum. He also referred to a note from the Cabinet Secretary recommending that the assessed value of spectrum licences be increased.
* ''23 April:'' In a 112-page written statement to the joint parliamentary committee, Raja said that he met with
P. Chidambaram
Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee ...
and Prime Minister Singh several times from November 2007 to July 2008 to inform them of all 2G-related decisions and Singh agreed with him.
2017
*''21 December:'' A special CBI court acquits everyone accused in the 2G spectrum case stating that the prosecution has failed to prove any charge against any of the accused, made in its well choreographed charge sheet.
2018
* ''On 19 and 20 March 2018'', the
Enforcement Directorate
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India. It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Gover ...
and
CBI respectively filed appeals against this verdict in the
Delhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi ( IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S ...
.
Licence cancellations
On 2 February 2012 the Supreme Court ruled on petitions filed by Subramanian Swamy and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) represented by
Prashant Bhushan Prashant or Prasant is a common male name in South Asia. It is derived from the word "shanth" which means patience, calm, quiet, or tranquil.
People with the given name
* Prashant Bose - Indian politician
* Prashant Bhushan - Indian lawyer, ...
, challenging the 2008 allotment of 2G licenses,
cancelling all 122 spectrum licences granted during Raja's term as communications minister.
and described the allocation of 2G spectrum as "unconstitutional and arbitrary". The bench of
GS Singhvi
G.S. Singhvi (born 12 December 1948) is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. He retired on 11 December 2013.
Early life and education
Singhvi was born at Jodhpur, Rajasthan on 12 December 1948. He graduated in 1968 from Jodhpur Uni ...
and
Asok Kumar Ganguly
Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly is an Indian jurist. He served as the Chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission and as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India who delivered judgements in some high-profile cases like the 2G spectrum case.
...
imposed a fine of on Unitech Wireless, Swan Telecom and Tata Teleservices and a fine on
Loop Telecom,
S Tel
S Tel Private Limited was a GSM based cellular operator in India. It was owned jointly by Chinakannan Sivasankaran. (51%) and Bahrain Telecommunications (49%). On 2 February 2012 Supreme Court of India cancelled all 122 spectrum licences grante ...
, Allianz Infratech and
Sistema Shyam Tele Services.
According to the ruling the current licences would remain in place for four months, after which time the government would reissue the licences.
In its ruling the court said that former telecom minister A. Raja "wanted to favour some companies at the cost of the public exchequer", listing seven steps he took to ensure this:
# After becoming telecom minister, Raja directed that all applications for spectrum licences would be held pending
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is a regulatory body set up by the Government of India under section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997. It is the regulator of the telecommunications sector in India. ...
recommendations.
# The 28 August 2007 TRAI recommendations were not presented to the full Telecom Commission, which would have included the finance secretary. Although the TRAI recommendations for allocation of 2G spectrum had serious financial implications (and finance ministry input was required under the Government of India Transaction of Business Rules, 1961), Telecom Commission non-permanent members were not notified of the meeting.
# The DoT officers attending 10 October 2007 Telecom Commission meeting were coerced into approving the TRAI recommendations, or they would have "incurred" Raja's "wrath".
# Since the Cabinet had approved the Group of Ministers recommendations, the DoT had to discuss the issue of spectrum pricing with the finance ministry. However, Raja did not consult the finance minister or other officials because the finance secretary had objected to allocating 2G spectrum at 2001 rates.
# Raja dismissed the law minister's suggestion that the issue should be presented to the Group of Ministers. After receiving the PM's 2 November 2007 letter suggesting transparency in spectrum allocation of the spectrum, Raja said it would be unfair, discriminatory, arbitrary and capricious to auction spectrum to new applicants because it would not give them a level playing field. Although a 24 September DoT press release said that 1 October would be the application deadline, he changed the deadline to 25 September. Raja's arbitrary action, "though appear
ngto be innocuous was actually intended to benefit some of the real estate firms who did not have any experience in dealing with telecom services and who had made applications only on 24 September 2007, i.e. one day before the cut-off date fixed by the C&IT minister on his own".
# The 25 September cut-off date decided by Raja on 2 November was not made public until a 10 January 2008 press release in which he changed the first-come, first-served principle which had been in operation since 2003. "This enabled some of the applicants, who had access either to the minister or DoT officers, get bank drafts prepared towards performance guarantee of about Rs 16 billion".
# "The manner in which the exercise for grant of LoIs to the applicants was conducted on 10 January 2008 leaves no room for doubt that everything was stage managed to favour those who were able to know in advance change in the implementation of the first-come-first-served policy." As a result, some companies who had submitted applications in 2004 or 2006 were pushed down the list in favour of those who had applied in August and September 2007.
Companies affected by cancellations
The table below lists the companies whose license were cancelled.
Aftermath
In addition to Batelco's exit, on 21 February 2012
Telenor (the majority shareholder in
Uninor
Telenor (India) Communications Private Limited, formerly known as Uninor, was an Indian mobile network operator. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor Group. In February 2017, Telenor Group a ...
) terminated its agreement with Unitech and sued it for "indemnity and compensation". On 23 February 2012, Etisalat of Etasalat-DB Telecom sued DB Realty corporate promoters
Shahid Balwa and
Vinod Goenka
Vinod Goenka is an Indian real-estate developer. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of DB Realty Ltd, a large real estate development companies in Mumbai, India.
His net worth was US$1.18 billion as per ''Forbes'' magazine in 2010. He s ...
for fraud and misrepresentation.
After the special CBI court verdict on 21 December 2017 acquitting all the accused, the government faces compensation claims worth over Rs 170 billion from telcos like Videocon Telecom, Loop Telecom and STel who suffered loss of business after the Supreme Court scrapped 122 licences in 2012.
Aircel-Maxis deal controversy
On 6 June 2011 former
Aircel
Aircel Ltd. was an Indian mobile network operator headquartered in Mumbai that offered voice and 2G and 3G data services. Maxis Communications held a 74% stake and Sindya Securities and Investments held the remaining 26%. Aircel was founde ...
chief C. Sivasankaran complained to the CBI about not receiving a telecom licence and being forced by telecom minister
Dayanidhi Maran
Dayanidhi Murasoli Maran (born 5 December 1966) is an Indian politician and one of the prominent members of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party. He was elected thrice as a Member of Parliament to Lok Sabha from Chennai Central constituency during ...
to sell Aircel to the Malaysia-based
Maxis Communications
Maxis Communications or Maxis Berhad is a communications service provider in Malaysia. It is one of the oldest and largest telecommunications companies in the country. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it provides a variety of communica ...
group, owned by T. Ananda Krishnan. The licences were allegedly issued after the deal was made. Sivasankaran also alleged that brothers Dayanidhi and
Kalanithi Maran
Kalanithi Murasoli Maran is an Indian billionaire media mogul who is the chairman and founder of the Sun Group. He owns television channels, newspapers, weeklies, FM radio stations, DTH services, a cricket team (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and a mov ...
received
kickbacks
A kickback is a form of negotiated bribery in which a commission is paid to the bribe-taker in exchange for services rendered. Generally speaking, the remuneration (money, goods, or services handed over) is negotiated ahead of time. The kickbac ...
in the form of investments by the Maxis group through the Astro network in
Sun TV Network
Sun TV Network is an Indian mass media company headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is a part of Sun Group and is one of Asia's largest TV networks. Established on 14 April 1992 by Kalanithi Maran, it owns a variety of television c ...
, owned by the Maran family.
In the wake of the allegations, Maran resigned on 7 July.
On 10 October, the CBI registered a case and raided properties owned by the Marans. CBI sources said that although no evidence of coercion was found in the Aircel sale, they found substantial evidence that Maran had favoured the company's takeover by Maxis and deliberately delayed Sivasankar's files.
On 8 February 2012, the Enforcement Directorate registered a money-laundering case against the Maran brothers
for allegedly receiving illegal compensation of about 5.5 billion in the Aircel-Maxis deal.
During the CBI probe Sivasankaran said that the Maran brothers had forced him to sell his 74% share in Aircel to Maxis by threatening his life, giving the CBI a list of over 10 witnesses. In September 2012, the CBI said it finished its Indian investigation and was awaiting the response to a
letter rogatory {{Short description, Formal request by a court to a foreign court for judicial assistance
Letters rogatory or letters of request are a formal request from a court to a foreign court for some type of judicial assistance. The most common remedies sou ...
sent to Malaysia and a questionnaire from T. Ananda Krishnan before filing a chargesheet.
On 29 August 2014, the CBI filed a
chargesheet against Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran, Malaysian businessman T Ananda Krishnan, Malaysian national Augustus Ralph Marshall, six others and four firms — Sun Direct TV Pvt Ltd, Maxis Communication Berhad, Astro All Asia Network PLC and South Asia Entertainment Holding Ltd as accused in the case.
On 29 October 2014, special CBI judge OP Saini said that he found enough evidence to proceed with the prosecution and hence summoned former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and others as accused.
Based on the CBI chargesheet, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 1 April 2015, attached Maran brothers' properties worth Rs 7,420 million.
Subramanian Swamy alleged that in 2006 a company controlled by
Karti Chidambaram, the son of
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
P. Chidambaram
Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee ...
, received a five-percent share of Aircel to get part of 40 billion paid by
Maxis Communications
Maxis Communications or Maxis Berhad is a communications service provider in Malaysia. It is one of the oldest and largest telecommunications companies in the country. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it provides a variety of communica ...
for the 74-percent share of Aircel. According to Swamy, Chidambaram withheld
Foreign Investment Promotion Board
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was a national agency of Government of India, with the remit to consider and recommend foreign direct investment (FDI) which does not come under the automatic route. India attract net inward foreign d ...
clearance of the deal until his son received the five-percent share in Siva's company.
The issue was raised a number of times in
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
by the opposition, which demanded Chidambaram's resignation.
Although he and the government denied the allegations,
''
The Pioneer'' and ''
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...
'' reported the existence of documents showing that Chidambaram delayed approval of the
foreign direct investment proposal by about seven months.
In July 2018, the CBI named P Chidambaram and Karti Chidambaram as accused in its supplementary
charge sheet. The charge sheet named 16 other co-accused, including former finance secretaries Ashok Chawla, Ashok Jha, former Aircel CEO V Srinivasanand, Maxis owners
T Ananda Krishnan and Ralph Marshal.
Response to the allegations
When Indian media began citing the
CAG report identifying the loss at 1.76 trillion (
short scale
The long and short scales are two of several naming systems for integer powers of ten which use some of the same terms for different magnitudes.
For whole numbers smaller than 1,000,000,000 (109), such as one thousand or one million, the t ...
), the Indian opposition parties unanimously demanded the formation of a
joint parliamentary committee to investigate the allegations.
Although the government rejected their demand,
when the winter session of Parliament began on 9 November 2010 the opposition again pressed for a JPC; again, their demand was rejected.
The demand for a JPC gained further momentum when the CAG report was tabled in Parliament on 16 November 2010. The opposition blocked the proceedings, again pressing for a JPC; the government again rejected their demand, creating an impasse.
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
The speaker of the Lok Sabha ( IAST: ) is the presiding officer and the highest official of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general e ...
Meira Kumar
Meira Kumar (born 31 March 1945) is an Indian politician and former diplomat. A member of the Indian National Congress, she was the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment from 2004 to 2009, the Minister of Water Resources for a brief per ...
unsuccessfully attempted to resolve the impasse. The winter session of Parliament concluded on 13 December 2010. Although 22 new bills were planned to be introduced, 23 pending bills passed and three bills withdrawn, Parliament functioned for only nine hours. On 22 February 2011, after resisting opposition demands for over three months, the government announced that it would form a JPC. The JPC criticised the CBI for its leniency to the PM, the
Attorney General, Dayanidhi Maran and Chidambaram and its reluctance to investigate their roles on 24 July 2012. After questioning former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi and the head of Maxis Communications, the CBI alleged that the Maran brothers accrued an illegal 5.50 billion by the sale of Sun Direct TV shares at highly "inflated prices".
In early November 2010
Jayalalithaa
Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...
accused state chief minister
M Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...
of protecting Raja from corruption charges, calling for Raja's resignation. By mid-November, Raja resigned. At that time, comptroller
Vinod Rai
Vinod Rai (born 23 May 1948) is a former IAS officer who served as the 11th Comptroller and Auditor General of India. He assumed office on 7 January 2008 till 22 May 2013. He is the current chairman of UN Panel of External Auditors and Honorar ...
issued show-cause notices to Unitech, S Tel, Loop Mobile, Datacom (Videocon) and Etisalat to respond to his assertion that the 85 licenses granted to these companies did not have the capital required at application or were otherwise illegal.
It was speculated that because these companies provide some consumer service, they would receive large fines but retain their licenses.
In June 2011 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh criticised the CAG for commenting on policy issues, warning it "to limit the office to the role defined in the constitution."
After Singh's criticism the CAG conducted a "rigorous internal appraisal" and stood by its findings, citing additional events as corroboration. The CAG reiterated that there was "an undeniable loss to the exchequer", the calculation of which was based on three estimates: the 3G auctions and the Swan and Unitech transactions. It cited the Supreme Court ruling of 2 February 2012 that the actions of Raja and officers at the Department of Telecom were "wholly arbitrary, capricious and contrary to the public interest, apart from being violative of the doctrine of equality. The material produced for the quote showed that the Minister for C&IT wanted to favour some companies at the cost of the public exchequer." It said its estimate of loss of 1.76 trillion was justified, since the May 2012 TRAI collation of reserve prices for 2G spectrum was about the same as that in the November 2010 CAG report. TRAI had recommended a reserve price for 2G spectrum of 180 billion for a pan-India 5 MHz licence, higher than the 3G value of 167.50 billion for 5 MHz used by the CAG for arriving at a loss figure of 1,760 billion. It concluded that it was only examining the "implementation of policy", and policy-making was the government's prerogative.
Joint parliamentary committee
The JPC consisted of half
United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...
members and half opposition members. Twelve were from the Lok Sabha, and eight from the Rajya Sabha. Of the Lok Sabha MPs, eight were from the
Congress Party and four from the
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...
. The following JPC members investigated the 2G allegations:
Verdict
On 21 December 2017, a Special CBI Court acquitted all the persons accused in the case.
See also
*
Indian Telecom Spectrum Auction
In India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) conducts auctions of licenses for electromagnetic spectrum. India was among the early adopters of spectrum auctions beginning auctions in 1994.
Overview
A telecom company that wishes to offer ...
*
List of scandals in India
The following is a ''list of proven scandals in India'' since independence, including political, financial and corporate scandals. The year, or decade, is when the scandal was first reported.
1940s
* 1947 - INA treasure chest disappearance
* ...
*
Corruption in India
Corruption in India is an issue which affects economy of central, state and local government agencies in many ways. Corruption is blamed for stunting the economy of India. A study conducted by Transparency International in 2005 recorded that ...
*
The Lokpal Bill, 2011
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, commonly known as The Lokpal Act, is an anti-corruption Act of Indian Parliament in India which "seeks to provide for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal to inquire into allegations of corrupt ...
*
2011 Indian anti-corruption movement
The Indian anti-corruption movement, popularly known as Anna Andolan, was a series of demonstrations and protests across India that began in 2011 and was intended to establish strong legislation and enforcement against perceived endemic polit ...
*
Jan Lokpal Bill
The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investi ...
References
External links
Transcripts : The Radia Tapescontains all the leaked audio transcripts between corporate lobbyist
Nira Radia
Niira Radia is a former corporate lobbyist whose taped telephone conversations implicated her influence in the allocation of key ministries in the Government of India in 2009. Discussion of the tapes resulted in the "Radia tapes controversy", wh ...
and other high-profile people.
2G Scam: In the dock (in pictures:HT)Case Study on the Supreme Court Ruling on the 2G Spectrum Scam
{{Scams and confidence tricks
21st-century scandals
Cover-ups
Criminal investigation
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (India)
Mobile phone industry in India
Spectrum auctions