Produce copy of complaint against Radia, SC tells government
13 Dec 2010
The Supreme Court today asked for a copy of the complaint, which led to the tapping of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia's phones. The apex court bench of justices, G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly said the copy could be submitted in a sealed cover. Radia's phones were tapped in 2008 and 2009 on a complaint that she had built a business empire of Rs300 crore in a short span of nine years.
Around 600 phone conversations between the influential corporate lobbyist and politicians, industrialists and others have been recorded and transcribed by the CBI.
Tata Group chief Ratan Tata, a client of Radia is on tape and has taken the government to court for leaking the tapes to the media, which he claims amounted to violation of his right to privacy. Two magazines have been served notices for publishing the transcripts of the Radia tapes.
The government filed an affidavit last week stating the reason for tapping Radia's phone as a complaint about the Rs300 crore business empire which she built in a span of nine years.
The complaint also alleges that she has been indulging in anti-national activities and spying for foreign intelligence agencies.
The court said today, "We make it clear nobody's image should be tarnished. Every individual has the right to protect his dignity." The media has also been warned by the judge to report carefully in the Tata case.
