2G spectrum Verdict: No proof of scam, says Court. A scam of lies, says Congress

NEW DELHI: Holding that the 2G spectrum scam of 2008 was "conjectured" by some people, a CBI court on Thursday acquitted former telecom minister A Raja, DMK chief K Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi, well-known businessmen, bureaucrats and all other accused.
It was a stunning twist in the case which, along with other scandals, came to symbolise the crony capitalism that allegedly flourished under UPA, provoking popular fury which helped BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

In his 1,552-page order, special judge O P Saini held that there was no criminality or conspiracy in spectrum allotment and said some people created a "scam by artfully arranging a few selected facts and exaggerating things beyond recognition to astronomical levels".
DMK MP Kanimozhi as she leaves the Court after she was acquitted in the 2G scam case, in New Delhi.
Others who were acquitted included prominent businessmen Ravi Ruia, Anshuman Ruia, I P Khaitan, Shahid Balwa, Vinod Goenka, Sanjay Chandra, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura and R K Chandolia, who served as PS to Raja in the telecom ministry.
The order, which came seven years after the Supreme Court set up a special court to try the accused, categorically held that the controversial former telecom minister did no wrong and pinned the blame on multiple government agencies - from Manmohan Singh's PMO to the ministries of finance and law as well as DoT officers. "Nobody believed the version of DoT and a huge scam was seen by everyone where there was none," the order said.
Saini also came down heavily on the CBI, charging the agency with shoddiness and approaching the case in fits and starts. The judge, who had earlier discharged another UPA minister, Dayanidhi Maran of DMK, and his brother Kalanidhi in a 2G scamrelated case, said he had "absolutely no hesitation in holding that the prosecution miserably failed to prove any charge against any of the accused, made in its well choreographed chargesheet".

Congres celebrates, BJP stands its ground
The case relates to the decision of Raja, a nominee of DMK in the Manmohan Singh government, to award 122 telecom licences in 2008 at 2001 rates, which according to CAG estimates resulted in presumptive loss of up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore. In addition, Raja was accused of tweaking rules to favour select companies in the allocation of spectrum and licences.
CAG's finding and the allegations against Raja, leading to his arrest and that of others by CBI, triggered a confrontation between the Congress-led UPA and BJP, resulting in the shutdown of Parliament for almost an entire session. Subsequently, the SC cancelled the allocations and ordered fresh auction, giving BJP ammunition for the 2014 Lok Sabha contest.
Congress celebrated the verdict saying BJP propaganda had been exposed while the saffron party stood its ground, arguing that the Rs 2.5 lakh crore received in auction of spectrum after the scandal proved the huge loss of revenue. The court faulted the CBI for filing a chargesheet "based mainly on misreading, selective reading, non reading and out of context reading of the official record".
It also rubbished the CBI's claim that Raja misled the then PM. Instead, it blamed PMO officials for misrepresenting facts to the PM.
Rs 200 crore bribe as loan
At the heart of CBI's charge of "illegal gratification" against Raja was the Rs 200 crore money trail it traced to Kalaignar TV which came from DB group of Shahid Balwa.
The court, after examining testimonies and documentary evidence, found that the "prosecution gave up its case in its entirety during the examination of witnesses as not a single question was put to any witness suggesting that Rs 200 crore was paid as bribe or reward by DB group for grant of UAS licences. There was no single question that illegal gratification was dressed up as a loan''.

The other CBI case
The other CBI case included Essar group's Ravi Kant Ruia, Anshuman Ruia and Vikas Saraf, and Loop Telecom's I P Khaitan and Kiran Khaitan and three companies. The CBI alleged that Loop Telecom was a front of Essar group or was substantially controlled by it and as such it was not eligible to apply for UAS licences.
The court noted that the CBI could not prove that Loop Telecom was a company of Essar group or was substantially controlled by it. As a result, the charge of cheating was dropped.
The court also held that the prosecution was unsuccessful in proving any of the ingredients, either of the offence of conspiracy to cheat DoT or of the substantive offence of cheating.