Reliance Infocomm officials dispensed from personal appearance

A special CBI court in Chennai today dispensed from personal appearance top Reliance Infocomm' executives Manoj Modi and Akhil Gupta, in the case pertaining to the loss caused to the exchequer by the company, when it was under Mukesh Ambani, by allegedly masking international calls as local.

Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Raja Singh also adjourned the case to 18 November as the Reliance Infocom advocate informed the court that the CBI had not given all the papers pertaining to the charges against his clients.

The CBI had registered a case in 2006 against six top officials, including Manoj Modi, of Reliance Infocomm, now a group company under the umbrella of the Anil Ambani- controlled ADAG, after Reliance was split between Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani.

Briefing reporters senior advocate N Venkataraman said, "Manoj Modi, the director and a top lieutenant of RIL chief Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Infocomm chief executive officer Akhil Gupta have been dispensed by the Court and whenever the court calls them they would appear.."

The other officials facing CBI's charge sheet are are Shankar Adawal, president corporate affairs, Pankaj Pawar, head, regulatory, L B D Kuruna and K R Raja.

According to the CBI, from May 2004 to September 2004, Reliance Infocomm passed off incoming international calls as locals to avoid payment of the access deficit charge to public sector BSNL.