SC asks CBI why Raja wasn't questioned

The Supreme Court today severely criticised the CBI for inaction in the face of allegations of corruption in the allocation of radio spectrum to telecom operators and asked the investigating agency to explain why the then telecom minister A Raja has not been questioned so far.

The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India that severely indicted the telecom department for deliberately undervaluing 2G spectrum would have been enough for the CBI to question Raja and the telecom secretary, the court observed.

"Any responsible person will question the involvement of the minister and the secretary and you say that 8,000 documents have been examined.

You are beating around the bush. It was the minimum expected of the CBI. What do you take this court for?" the two-judge bench hearing the 2G scam case asked the CBI counsel.

The CAG report blames the then telecom minister A Raja for causing a loss of Rs1,76,000 crore to the government by not auctioning 2G spectrum in 2008.

Raja skirted existing government policy and changed the deadline for applications to benefit a few, when he chose to award licences for 2G spectrum instead of auctioning it, the CASG report points out.