Ex-telcom Secy to depose before JPC on July 12

NEW DELHI: With a Joint Parliamentary Committee probing 2G spectrum allocation scam allowing former Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura to depose before it, a Delhi court on Monday asked Tihar jail authorities to produce him before the lawmakers' panel on July 12.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini asked the jail superintendent to produce Behura before the JPC after the court received a communication from the prison authorities apprising it of the JPC's permission to the ex-bureaucrat to depose before it in connection with spectrum allocation scam.

The JPC had permitted Behura to testify before it following his plea to give him an opportunity to apprise the panel of his version of the case.

"A letter dated June 25, 2011, has been received from Tihar Jail, regarding appearance of accused Siddhartha Behura before JPC on July 12 at 11 am for giving oral evidence.

"The letter is accompanied by photocopy of a letter dated June 17, 2011, received from the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Parliament House, New Delhi, on the subject cited above as well as photocopy of a letter dated June 24, 2011, written by Behura, seeking permission to appear before JPC," the court said.

The judge allowed Behura to appear before the JPC and exempted him from personal appearance before it on July 12.