2G accused elated as Special court acquits all

Red-black flags flew high outside the Patiala House court in Delhi as the special court acquitted all those accused of in the 2G spectrum scam in a verdict that relieved the DMK's A Raja, Kanimozhi, and several others of corruption charges.

MK Stalin, the working president of the DMK, began handing out sweets just after the word got out that all accused have been acquitted.


Speaking to reporters outside his residence, MK Stalin said: "This case was foisted on the accused purely with the intention to bring down an entire party." Stalin's reference is to intensive campaign by the BJP ahead of the 2014 General Elections, when leaders spoke of the CAG report that pegged the loss to the nation at Rs 1.76 lakh crore, even though the CBI had registered the loss at just above Rs 30,000 crore.

Speaking to ET, TKS Elangovan, Rajya Sabha MP, said the verdict was a vindication of their stand for six years and that it would enthuse their cadre in the months to come.

The 2G spectrum case -- three cases of two by the CBI and one by ED -- was about arbitrary spectrum allocations and losses to the government. The First-Cum-First-Serve policy and the subsequent advancement of the deadline led to suspicions of favouritism with certain companies. In 2012, the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licences on grounds that the policy was unfair.