2G case conspiracy began after A Raja became minister: Court

The conspiracy to allocate 2G spectrum to ineligible telecom operators for illegal graft began after A Raja became Minister for Telecommunication and Information Technology, said a Delhi court today while putting him on trial along with 16 others, including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi.

"The conspiracy started after accused A Raja became Minister of Communications and IT on May 16 and its physical manifestation started becoming clear in August-September 2007 on receipt of TRAI recommendations dated August 28, 2007," said Special Judge OP Saini who rejected the defence counsels' contention that there was no conspiracy at all.

"...the conspiracy continued till the last tranche of money, Rs50 crore, was received by Kalaignar TV on August 7, 2009, as illegal gratification," the judge added.

The court said all the accused in the case knew each other from the beginning, much before the plotting began.