A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the bail plea of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa and personal secretary of former Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, saying they are "high ranking public servants" and "influential" who may tamper with the probe.
"Considering the facts and the circumstances of the case, arbitrary acts done by the accused, quantum of loss to the state exchequer, role of accused R K Chandolia in arranging the counters in a particular manner and the fact that the company of Balwa was initially ineligible and was subsequently shown to be eligible by forging the documents, I am not inclined to enlarge them to bail," Special CBI Judge O P Saini said.
In not granting the relief, the judge also took into account the "initial stage of the investigation and other facts and circumstances of the case".
Dismissing their bail applications, the court considered the fact that Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd, promoted by Balwa, was ineligible for 2G licenses as the holding firm of the company was indirectly funded by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG).
"M/s Reliance Telecom Limited of ADAG group of companies had already been granted license in some circles and, as such, M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd, its associate company, was not eligible for license," the CBI Judge said.
{{/usCountry}}"M/s Reliance Telecom Limited of ADAG group of companies had already been granted license in some circles and, as such, M/s Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd, its associate company, was not eligible for license," the CBI Judge said.
{{/usCountry}}The court said Swam Telecom should not have applied for licenses in the first place as it was incorporated by M/s Reliance group of companies and thus was ineligible.
The court also considered the alleged fabrication of records relating to various companies with an objective to make Swam Telecom eligible for the license.
The judge noted that Rs 200 crores were transferred by group companies of DB group, in which Balwa was the Managing Director, to Kalaignar TV, belonging to Sharad Kumar and others who are closely associated with Raja, after the allotment of Unified Access Service (UAS) licences.
"It is CBI's allegation that these Rs 200 crores were transferred as a consideration for helping the company in obtaining UAS licenses to the Kalaignar TV, in which associates of Raja are also shareholders," the court noted.