2G scam: Why no action on PM’s letters asks SC

The Supreme Court yesterday sought to know why no action was taken on the prime minister's letter of 3 November, 2007 to the then telecom minister A Raja regarding the award of spectrum.
 
The court felt the severity of the case in question otherwise could have been different.

The comments came during hearing of bail pleas of two corporate executives accused in the second generation (2G) spectrum case.
 
According to justices GS Singhvi and HL Dattu the gravity of the alleged crime could have been different if action had been taken on the letter.

The SC suggested had action been taken on the letter the 2G scam could possibly have been prevented.

The letter had questioned various aspects of the manner in  which Raja proposed to allocate the precious resource among telecom players and favoured the auction of airwaves. The letter also conveyed the industry's apprehensions.

However, replying to the letter, Raja, now in judicial custody as the prime accused in the case, said he would continue with the policy of first-come-first-served to allocate the scarce resource, assuring full transparency in the process though.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), taking note of the apex court's observations have demanded a full explanation on the matter from the government.