A Raja targets SC for 'unfair' trial

Former telecom minister A. Raja, the main accused in the 2G spectrum scam, has said that he could have had a " free and fair trial" had the Supreme Court ( SC) not monitored the case constantly.

Testifying before the 2G trial court here on Monday, Raja sought to blame the apex court for ' depriving' him opportunity to adequately defend himself against a stubbornly tenacious Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI), which had a ' point to prove' with the SC monitoring the case and in the process he was deprived of a fair trial.

Deposing before Special CBI Judge O. P. Saini, Raja said that monitoring of the scam probe by the SC led the CBI to investigate the case in a " predetermined manner". When Saini objected, Raja insisted that he just wished to put the fact on record. " I am not aggrieved any more for your court has granted me the opportunity of fair hearing. I have exhausted all procedures. No other institution in the country gave me an opportunity of hearing.

The CAG [ Comptroller and Auditor General of India], SC and JPC [ Joint Parliamentary Committee] did not take my submissions and I just wish to put this on record," he said.

Raja also reiterated that all his decisions regarding the spectrum allocation in 2008 were taken in concurrence with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. " I did not take any unilateral decision, but acted on the proposals of DoT [ Department of Telecommunications] and on discussions with other Cabinet ministers and the then- solicitor general G. E. Vahanvati, and after properly apprising the Prime Minister and taking his concurrence.

"My actions do not amount to abuse of official position or any other offence," Raja told Saini.

Raja also blamed the " flawed" CAG report and " adverse media publicity" for his " implication" in the scam. On being asked about the allegations of former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, a CBI witness in the case, regarding allocation of 2G licences to accused company Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd, Raja said that he had approved the grant of licences only after its file was proposed by the DoT. Radia had said that Swan, whose promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka are also co- accused in the case, was ineligible to secure the costly radio waves.

Raja also denied knowing and regularly meeting Balwa and coaccused Sanjay Chandra, managing director of Unitech Ltd, during his tenure as minister of environment and forests.

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