In a move that could spell more trouble for communications & IT minister A Raja, investigating agency CBI has begun inquiring into what might have led the department of telecommunications to disregard then law minister HR Bhardwaj?s opinion on the procedure for granting new telecom licences and, instead, directly approach then solicitor-general Goolam Vahanvati for his views. Was Vahanvati aware that the law minister had already furnished written opinion that was contrary to his advice? These are some of the questions to which CBI is seeking answers.
Sources said the questioning of junior officers at DoT prompted CBI to investigate the serious procedural lapse by DoT and Vahanvati, who is now attorney general.
In November 2007, DoT sought the law ministry?s views on whether new licences should be granted through auctions or on a first-cum-first-served basis at prices discovered in 2001. Its opinion was clear: either conduct auctions or explore a new mechanism through a group of ministers. The law ministry explicitly opposed granting licences at 2001 prices and asked DoT to keep it informed about the final decision.
As reported earlier by FE, then DoT secretary DS Mathur and telecom commission member-finance Manju Madhavan concurred with the law ministry?s views and had differences with Raja on the subject. Now, CBI will seek details from them, as well as recently retired DoT secretary Siddhartha Behura, during whose tenure the licences were allocated.
Interestingly, while the law ministry?s views were sought on broader issues of licensing and spectrum, Vahanvati was asked specifically to comment on whether auctions are required.
A top official involved in the law ministry?s exercise of furnishing its opinion on the matter told FE there is a clear procedure for such requests. ?The concerned ministry has to refer the matter to the law minister, who may then assign it to a law officer. The law officer has to route all outgoing advice through the law minister. If a ministry approaches a law officer directly, it is his duty to advise the ministry to route the matter through the law minister.?
According to the law ministry official, the intriguing part is that despite the law ministry having already tendered its views, DoT still sought the opinion of the solicitor-general, who gave it. The CBI, which is investigating into suspected irregularities in the process of granting 2G licences last January and has already conducted search & seizures at the offices of DoT, wants to now get to the bottom of why such departures were made from established procedure and at whose behest.
