2G scam: court nixes Raja’s plea to appear personally

Andimuthu Raja, the former telecom minister now languishing in jail in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam, has been denied permission to personally appear before the Supreme Court and help argue his case.

The special CBI court set up to hear the case said Raja had been given ample time to consult with his lawyers before the apex court hears the case on 10 October.

Raja had earlier this week moved "to place submission through the counsel to elucidate correct facts to explain the sequence of events in 2007-2008 in a better manner". He is accused of selling spectrum on the cheap without competitive bidding during his tenure as minister; and also favouring certain companies in this regard.

In his application, Raja alleged prejudice against him in the case, which is being monitored by the Supreme Court.

Rejecting his plea, special judge O P Saini also warned Raja against making remarks against the Supreme Court. "In clause (d) of para 2 of this application as well as during the hearing, certain observations are/were made regarding Supreme Court ... it is claimed that monitoring of investigation by the SC is causing serious prejudice to the accused. The accused is advised in his interest to desist from making such observations on superior courts during hearing in this court," the judge said in his five-page order.

The court observed, "No requisition has been received from the Supreme Court regarding Raja's production before it. As such, the accused cannot be allowed to go to that court in person while in custody without any direction."