2G scam: SC asks CBI for D Subbarao dossier on 2G

NEW DELHI: Former finance minister P Chidambaram's role in the spectrum allocation will come in for scrutiny of the Supreme Court on Thursday. Responding to CBI's stand that the Office Memorandum from the Finance Ministry to the PMO was part of a 500 page file prepared by the then finance secretary D Subbarao and that it was assessed by the agency, the SC directed the agency to submit the entire for its perusal.

Janata Party President and petitioner, Subramanian Swamy, who has approached the SC for ordering a probe into Chidambaram's role in the spectrum allocation, has been claiming that the Subbarao documents will prove his point that there was a "meeting of minds" between Chidambaram and A Raja for fixing a low price for spectrum.

The SC bench comprising Justices DS Singhvi and AK Ganguly told CBI counsel KK Venugopal that the agency should make available the files on Thursday for the court's scrutiny. "Make it available tomorrow and show it to us," the bench said.

Subbarao had recently told the Public Accounts Committee probing the spectrum scandal that he had regularly briefed Chidambaram on telecom issues. At an earlier PAC hearing, Subbarao had said that he raised the issue of low prices for spectrum in a letter to then DoT secretary DS Mathur.

In his letter to Mathur, Subbarao had said that the Finance Ministry was of the view that the entire process should be stayed. "It is not clear how the rate of 1,600 crore, determined as far back as in 2001, has been applied for a licence given in 2007 without any indexation, let alone current valuation.

In view of the financial implications, the Ministry of Finance should have been consulted in the matter before you had finalised the decision," he wrote. The then Finance Secretary also admitted that the Finance Ministry did not pursue the case.

In another development on Wednesday, Centre for Public Interest Litigation has requested the SC to constitute a Special Investigation Team headed by a retired SC judge to probe the 2G scam alleging that CBI was shielding big corporates like Reliance ADAG and the Tata group.

CPIL's Prashant Bhushan said CBI was reluctant to even question Chidambaram as the agency's brass comprised senior IPS officers, whose cadre controlling authority was the Home Ministry. CBI counsel objected to it saying that CBI came under the Department of Personnel and Training which was under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.