Why the case fell flat, what the agencies say they will do next

NEW DELHI: Judge OP Saini said that India’s federal investigators could not prove allegations of criminality against the accused in the so-called 2G scam case. “I have absolutely no hesitation in holding that prosecution has miserably failed to prove any charge against any accused,” Saini told a packed courtroom.

Though the CBI and Enforcement Directorate have both confirmed they will appeal against the verdict, legal experts said that without any new evidence of criminality, it will be difficult to cut ice with the court.

The case related to irregularities in the allotment of licences and the allocation of spectrum in 2008. In 2012, in response to a public interest litigation related to this, the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licences.

“A key ingredient in proving criminality would be evidence of gratification. There were none,” senior defence counsel Rebecca John told Hindustan Times.

In fact, apart from the ~200 crore alleged kickback that went through a maze of companies from the DB Realty to DMK’s Kalaignar TV, CBI could not establish that any more bribes were paid in the case, which, according to its first chargesheet, caused a loss of ~30,000 crore to the exchequer. Even the trail of the ~200 crore alleged kickback could not be established.

A top official in the ED said that there are several letters rogatory (LR) or letters of request pending in the 2G case. These pertain to allegations of bribes. Answers to them would help the agencies take the case forward.

An LR is a formal request issued by a competent court to a foreign court and processed by the ministry of external affairs on behalf of the investigative agencies to obtain information about individuals and entities.

“We have an LR pending with Switzerland. It is to probe if there was a quid pro quo between Reliance Telecom and Raja,” said the ED official cited above. He added that their probe has been severely handicapped by the pace of CBI’s investigation.