Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group-led Reliance Telecom (RTL) and its three executives moved the Delhi High Court on Monday for quashing of charges framed against them by a CBI court in 2G spectrum case, saying there was no material to prosecute them.
Challenging the trial court’s order charging it with criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery, the company said it did not indulge in any wrongdoing and charges framed against it were ?wrong?.
CBI has charged Reliance executives Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara with cheating and criminal conspiracy, and causing loss to the exchequer.
?No incriminating material has been indicated in the chargesheet or by the prosecution in its submission on the charges,? the petition said, adding that ?the charges framed against the petitioner (RTL) had no basis in law. In fact, there is no act or omission attributable to the petitioner that has been indicated in the charges that justify the continuation of criminal proceedings against the petitioner”.
According to RTL, Swan Telecom had filed application months before A Raja became the telecom minister.
?The charges framed as against the accused indicate that there are charges for multiple conspiracies and it is unclear as to how and when the multiple conspiracies took place and also as to how they form a cohesive single conspiracy,? it contended.
The trial court in its order had earlier dismissed RTL’s contention that Swan Telecom was not its ?associate?, saying it was, directly or indirectly, holding 100% shares in STPL.
?Its (STPL) source of fund was RCL/RTL (Reliance Communication Ltd/ Reliance Telecom Ltd). Directly or indirectly, it was holding 100% shares of STPL as on the date of application. The source of funding of STPL was RCL/RTL… As such, STPL was not only an ‘associate’ but a front, or a facade, for RCL/RTL. In a sense, STPL was RCL/RTL itself and STPL was just a mask for it,” Special CBI judge O P Saini had said.
Saini has fixed November 11 for commencement of the trial after all the accused refused to plead guilty to various offences.
On Saturday, the court charged former telecommunications minister A Raja, his personal secretary R K Chandolia and former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura with bribery, forgery and conspiracy to cause financial loss to the government in the 2G spectrum scam.
Unitech managing director Sanjay Chandra, former DB Realty managing director Vinod Goenka, former DB Realty managing director Shahid Balwa and three companies ? Reliance Telecom Ltd, Swan Telecom Pvt and Unitech Wireless Ltd ? are allegedly involved in the scam.