2G case: Swamy told to appear before District Judge

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s direction for setting up an exclusive court to deal with cases relating to 2G spectrum scam, a Delhi court today marked the file to the District Judge and asked the Janata Party President, Mr Subramanian Swamy, to appear before it.

“The Supreme Court had directed setting up of exclusive court to deal with cases arising out of the 2G scam.

District and Sessions Judge-1 is requested to kindly entrust this file to the court so constituted,” the Special CBI Judge, Mr Pradeep Chaddah, said.

The court, while marking the file to the District Judge, has asked Mr Swamy to appear before the district court on March 25.

Mr Swamy’s lawyer Mr Tarun Goomber sought exemption for his client from personal appearance for today as he has to appear before the Supreme Court in the 2G spectrum case. The court allowed Mr Swamy’s plea.

The Delhi High Court had earlier decided to set up a special court exclusively to hold the trial in the 2G scam for expeditious hearing in the case.

High Court sources had told PTI that the CBI Judge, Mr O.P. Saini, who is dealing with the case, has been appointed as a Special Judge to exclusively deal with the matter.

The CBI had earlier told the court that it is probing if the country’s internal security has been compromised due to the 2G spectrum allocation to ineligible telecom operators during the former Telecom Minister Mr A. Raja’s tenure.

The agency said it is probing the threat to the country’s internal security as per the concerns raised by Mr Swamy, who had come to the court seeking a probe into the scam.

The Janata Party President had also sought the court’s direction to appoint him as a public prosecutor to help the agency probe the case.

The agency had told the court that it had been probing the 2G spectrum allocation scam within the confines of the first information report registered by it.

Mr Swamy, in his petition filed before the court, had said Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless, which were allotted licensees, had sold their major shares to two foreign companies Etisalat DB and Telenor, which is “a major threat” to national security.

“The first two licensees, Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless, soon after the allocation of spectrum to them sold their controlling shares, respectively to Etisalat DB and Telenor. The national security risk from these companies is highlighted by the Union Home Ministry as their connections go right into Pakistan,” he had said.

Mr Swamy had earlier sought the court’s direction to CBI to ask the Union Home Ministry, Research and Analysis Wing and other intelligence agencies to find out the bearings of 2G scam on national security.