2G scam: Solicitor general to answer SC queries on PM

Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium will have to address many of the Supreme Court’s queries tomorrow related to “inaction and silence” on the part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a plea for prosecuting then telecom minister A Raja for lapses in the 2G spectrum scam.

Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium will on Thursday have to address many of the Supreme Court’s queries related to “inaction and silence” on the part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a plea for prosecuting then telecom minister A. Raja for lapses in the 2G spectrum scam.

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Former MP Subramanian Swamy submitted the application to the prime minister Nov 29, 2008 seeking sanction to launch criminal proceedings against Raja under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has indicted the government for irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation, causing the exchequer a loss of Rs 1.76 trillion ($40 billion).

The solicitor general on Thursday will have to explain to the court the delay on the part of the prime minister.

Gopal Subramanium will have to satisfy the court on why it took the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) 11 months for filing a first information report (FIR) in the scam.

The solicitor general will also address the question of “inaction and silence” of the prime minister in replying to Swamy’s application on Raja.

He will also have to answer why the companies that were not eligible for the grant of 2G licences were awarded the same.

Justice G S Singhvi has already stated that Swamy’s application did not suffer from any vagueness.

The court will also look into the question whether the three months' period to decide on an application seeking permission to launch criminal proceedings against a tainted union minister should commence from the date when the plea is filed or from the date when a CBI probe into the matter gets over.