Raja remanded to CBI custody till Feb 10

A Delhi court on Tuesday extended till February 10 the CBI custody remand of the 2G spectrum case accused and former Telecom Minister, Mr A. Raja.

It also remanded the former Telecom Secretary, Mr Siddharth Behura, and the then private secretary to Mr Raja, Mr R.K. Chandolia, to judicial custody till February 22.

During the hearing, CBI counsel Mr K.K. Goel had sought the extension of CBI custody remand of Mr Raja by another four days so that the investigating agency could interrogate him further, confront him with other suspects and vital witnesses, recover more documents and find out the money trail in the case.

The CBI claims that Mr Raja has so far not divulged the trail of money allegedly got from some telecom companies for showing undue favour and granting 2G licences.

Noting that the allegations against the accused are that their acts caused Rs 22,000 crore worth loss to the exchequer in the grant of 2G licences by misuse of official position, the Special Judge (CBI), Mr O.P. Saini, allowed the extension of Mr Raja's CBI custody remand by two more days. The judge said, “Naturally it is a complex case based on documents and at the relevant time, accused Mr Raja was the Minister.”

The court also said Mr Raja should be medically examined every 48 hours, adding that his counsel and family members can meet him for 30 minutes daily.

The demand for extension of Mr Raja's CBI custody remand was opposed by Mr Raja's counsel, Mr Ramesh Gupta, stating that it was unnecessary as no document is alleged to be in the custody of Mr Raja and no recovery is to be effected from him.

Mr Behura and Mr Chandolia were remanded only to judicial custody as the CBI counsel said the investigating agency no longer wanted their custody. They have been sent to jail, but the court has permitted Mr Behura to wear reading glasses while inside the jail and take medicines as he is unwell.