Delhi High Court notice to CBI in Reliance Infocomm case

NEW DELHI: CBI was today asked by the Delhi High Court to respond to a plea for cross examination of the Minister for Personnel and Training in a case related to alleged masking of international calls as local ones by erstwhile Reliance Infocomm for two years from 2000.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher issued notice to the probe agency and sought its reply by April 29, 2013 on an application filed by P C Srivastava, a lawyer and an RTI applicant in this case, alleging that CBI has failed to explain the reasons for not naming the Ambani brothers for past several years and wanted to question the minister or the CBI officer dealing with the case before the court.

"The working of CBI is reflective and it appears that the agency is merely doing formality of investigations and only implicating small offenders and filing chargesheet in petty offences, on the other hand, malafidely saving the skin of big offenders...," the petitioner said.

"It is necessary in the ends of justice as well as to prevent the abuse of process of the court and direct the Minister Department of Personnel and Training by fixing a Date

for his appearance for cross examination on behalf to arrive at a definite conclusion," Srivastava said in his plea.

Similarly, the lawyer also sought an order fixing a date for the cross examination of the CBI officer who has filed the affidavit in this court in the case.