Tata pleads for in-chamber trial

Senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for Tata Teleservices, on Tuesday requested the Supreme Court to consider taking up the 2G spectrum case for in-chamber hearing (only allowing the parties concerned to be present).

Senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for Tata Teleservices, on Tuesday requested the Supreme Court to consider taking up the 2G spectrum case for in-chamber hearing (only allowing the parties concerned to be present). He alleged that media reporting in the matter was affecting the reputation and stakes of the companies involved.

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Salve requested the bench comprising Justice GS Singhvi and Justice AK Ganguly to also restrain publication of affidavits and documents that were being filed in the court by various contenders. "The documents filed by the petitioner (Centre for Public Interest Litigation) become a part of court record, thereby giving an opportunity to the press to publish it. We request the court not to allow such publications without permission," Salve urged the court.

The senior counsel's submissions came during the hearing of CPIL's petition in which the bench has ordered a court-monitored CBI probe. He aired grievances when the bench had perused CBI's status report placed before it in a sealed cover.

The court was hearing CPIL counsel Prashant Bhushan's submissions with regard to the CBI probe in which the advocate asked for a detailed probe . At this, Salve asked for in-camera proceedings and said Bhushan had to be candour enough in his arguments or the same could get misreported by the media. "These (firms) are the large corporations and it affects their reputation. What CBI finds out in its probe would be revealed only when chargesheet is filed. But so many things have come up in the media," he added.

The court, however, said: "Open media and open trial are important and we don't want to dilute it."