Sahara MD Roy gets SC notice for bid to hamper 2G probe

Responding to allegations by the Enforcement Directorate, the Supreme Court on Friday issued contempt notices to Sahara Group managing director Subrata Roy and two others for attempting to interfere with the investigation into the 2G spectrum case.

The ED has alleged that Sahara Samay Television, the media arm of the Sahara Group, tried to browbeat Rajeshwar Singh, assistant director in the directorate, who is on the spectrum scam probe team, just after Singh sent summons for Roy to appear before the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

It said Sahara Samay threatened to do a series of stories on Singh, and started sending a spate of questionnaires, apparently to make Singh back off from the probe.

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly, which went through the questions addressed to Singh by Sahara Media, observed that they were of a purely personal nature, and took cognizance of ED's charge that the alleged attempt to influence the Supreme Court-monitored probe into the spectrum scam amounted to contempt of court.

 A bench comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly directed Roy, editor of Sahara Media Upendra Rai and reporter Subodh Jain to respond within six weeks to Singh's contempt petition detailing how he was sought to be intimidated.

The bench in its order said, ''Having gone through the records we are prima facie of the view that an attempt has been made to interfere with the investigation conducted by Mr. Rajeshwar Singh in what has been described as 2G spectrum scam case and related matters. Therefore, we take suo motu cognisance and issue notices to them.''