SC not to vet chargesheet on 2G after CBI objection

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court won't scrutinize the CBI chargesheet against former telecom minister A Raja and others before its filing in the special court set up to exclusively try the 2G scam.

CBI's counsel, senior advocate K K Venugopal, pointed out the pitfalls in the apex court scrutinizing the chargesheet before its filing before the special court and said it would give a handle to the accused to question the fair trial.

Though CBI had promised to file the first chargesheet in the spectrum scam by March 31, it sought two extra days to interrogate DB Realty director Asif Balwa and another accused, Rajiv Agrawal, who were arrested on Tuesday.

A bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly, while allowing CBI to file the chargesheet by April 2, reiterated it wanted to have a look at the charge-sheet before it was filed before the designated court.

Venugopal objected and said, "Scrutiny of the chargesheet by SC will give the accused a handle to argue that once the final report was examined by the highest court, no trial court will consider their applications seeking discharge."