The 2G scam: When the prosecution failed miserably

“All accused are entitled to be acquitted”— appearing as paragraph 1819 on the last page of Special CBI Judge OP Saini’s 1552-page judgement, this sentence is the briefest possible summation of the outcome of the CBI vs A Raja case. A little earlier in para. 1818 of his verdict delivered on December 21, the learned judge observes, “the prosecution has miserably failed to prove any charge against any of the accused, made in its well-choreographed charge sheet”.

In the related ED vs A Raja case, the same judge, on paragraph 168 (pg. 103 of the 105-page judgement), pronounced an identical verdict, “all accused are entitled to be acquitted and are acquitted”. Furthermore, Judge Saini ordered all the properties attached by the ED to be released to the persons from whom they were attached (para 175, pg. 105), including the Rs 223.55 crore property of the DB group. There were 19 accused in this case and 17 in the former, including prominent politicians, bureaucrats, corporate executives, businessmen, and business houses. All have been let off.

This high-profile case began way back in May 2009. NGO Telecom Watchdog filed a complaint with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) alleging irregularities in 2G spectrum allocation. In July 2009, the Delhi High court ruled that the cut-off date for licence applications was illegal. In October 2009, the CBI filed its FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act. In September 2010, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the UPA-ruled central government and A Raja in response to a PIL alleging a scam of Rs 70,000 crore in 2G spectrum allocation. In November 2010, the CAG Vinod Rai put the “presumptive loss” to the exchequer at Rs 1.76 lakh crore, forcing Raja to step down. Thereafter, under the direction of the Supreme Court, the legal machinery swung into action. Raja was remanded to judicial custody in 2011, with charge sheets filed against several of the accused. By October 2011, the special CBI court started its proceedings, with the trial beginning in November. On February 2, 2012, the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licenses granted under the then Minister of Communications & IT, A Raja’s watch, called the allotment “unconstitutional and arbitrary.”

Given such a strong build-up, let us ponder over Judge Saini’s observation in paragraph 1811 (page 1544) of his verdict: “I may also add that for the last about seven years, on all working days, summer vacation included, I religiously sat in the open Court from 10 am to 5 pm, awaiting someone with some legally admissible evidence in his possession, but all in vain. Not a single soul turned up. This indicates that everybody was going by public perception created by rumour, gossip and speculation. However, public perception has no place in judicial proceedings.”

How to reconcile these two sets of data? Going by the detailed history of the 2G scam, it is clear that every institutional and constitutional authority, including the CVC, Telecom Regulatory Authority, Delhi High Court, CAG, CBI, Enforcement Director, and above all, Supreme Court of India, found irregularities in the 2G Spectrum allotments. Not a single one of these empowered and august bodies gave a clean chit to the UPA government, the PMO, and former Telecom minister A Raja. The highest court of the land found enough evidence not only to order a prosecution, but also to cancel licences.

Whatever the debate over who won or lost this particular innings of India’s political and media slugfest, one thing is amply and incontrovertibly true. The prosecution miserably failed in making its case. This, some would say, is tantamount to criminal negligence, with incalculable loss of the nation’s time, money, and energy, not to speak of the harm done to the accused, including the time they spent in jail or judicial remand if they are innocent. But worst of all is the damage inflicted on the credibility and prestige of some of the highest institutions of the land that undergird our democracy, including the Supreme Court, the CBI, the CAG, the ED, and so on.

The Congress is sure to press its advantage both in Parliament and outside. This is only to be expected. For the ruling party, damage control in the media is of little consequence compared to the tremendous loss suffered by their anti-corruption narrative. Is this a case of collusion as alleged by the irrepressible Subramanian Swamy or of sheer, even culpable, incompetence? The Government-backed prosecution will have a lot of soul-searching, if not overhauling to do. They must get their act together double-quick so that the next round in the High Court goes better than this one.

The author is a poet and professor at JNU. Views expressed are personal.