2G Scam: CBI, ED Moves Delhi HC for Early Hearing on Appeals Challenging Acquittal of A Raja, Others

The CBI and ED Monday approached the Delhi High Court seeking early hearing on their appeals challenging the acquittal of former Union telecom minister A Raja and others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam cases.

The early hearing pleas came up before Justice Brijesh Sethi who asked the probe agencies to serve all the respondents — individuals and firms — with the copy of their applications.

The high court listed the early hearing applications for September 10, when it will also hear a plea by a firm, which was acquitted in the 2G scam related money laundering case, seeking to release its properties worth Rs 22 crore attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The two agencies have sought early hearing of the appeals which are otherwise listed for hearing on October 12.

CBI has also sought advancing the hearing of the appeal challenging the acquittal of Essar Group promoters Ravi Kant Ruia and Anshuman Ruia and six others in a separate case arising out of the 2G scam probe. A special court had on December 21, 2017 acquitted Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and others in CBI and ED cases related to the scam.

It had acquitted 17 others, including DMK supremo M Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal, Vinod Goenka, Asif Balwa, film producer Karim Morani, P Amirtham and Sharad Kumar, Director of Kalaignar TV in the ED case. On the same day, the trial court had also acquitted former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's erstwhile private secretary R K Chandolia, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra and three top executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) — Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair, in the CBI's 2G case.

Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka and directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal were also acquitted in the CBI case. On March 19 2018, the ED had approached the high court challenging the special court's order acquitting all the accused.

A day later, the CBI too had challenged in the high court the acquittal of the accused in the case.

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