3 min readNew DelhiApr 18, 2018 12:08 PM IST
First published on: Apr 18, 2018 at 12:08 PM IST
The appeal, which is likely to come up for hearing this week, sought to summon records of the trail court.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday moved the Delhi High Court seeking to quash the trial court’s order acquitting Essar Group promoters Ravi Kant Ruia, Anshuman Ruia and others in a case related to the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
In its appeal against CBI Special Judge O P Saini’s December 21, 2017 verdict acquitting the accused of all charges, the CBI said: “Set side the judgment of the Special Judge and convict the accused and sentence them as per law”.
Besides Ruia’s, the Special Judge also acquitted Loop Telecom Promoters I P Khaitan and Kiran Khaitan, and Vikash Saraf, one of the Essar Group Directors, Loop Telecom Pvt Ltd, Loop Mobile (India) Ltd and Essar Teleholdings Ltd.
The appeal, which is likely to come up for hearing this week, sought to summon records of the trial court.
The agency said, “The Special Judge has failed to appreciate the evidence as well as the law in proper perspective”.
“The evidence on record clearly establishes the offence committed by the accused persons. The judge has wrongly acquitted the accused persons of the charges. The various adverse observations made by the Special Judge are highly unwarranted, unjustified and in case, deserves to be expunged,” the CBI added.
The trial court in its verdict had held that there was no evidence to suggest that Ruia’s controlled Loop Telecom Ltd, an alleged beneficiary of the spectrum allocation.
The special judge had also acquitted all the 17 accused including former telecom minister A Raja in the CBI’s 2G case holding that there was no scam. The agency has already filed an appeal against the same order. The same is listed for hearing in May.
CBI had listed the Ruia’s and others as accused in its chargesheet on December 12, 2011, alleging that they had cheated the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) by using Loop Telecom as a “front” to secure 2G licences in 2008 in violation of Clause 8 of the Unified Access Service License (UASL) Guidelines.
According to the Clause 8 of the UASL guidelines:- “No single company/legal person, either directly or through associates, shall have substantial equity holding in more than one licensee company in the same service area for Access Services namely; Basic, Cellular and Unified Access Service.”
The appeal, which is likely to come up for hearing this week, sought to summon records of the trail court.
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