Judicial custody of A Raja, three others extended till April 2

The judicial custody of former telecom minister A Raja and three others, arrested for their alleged role in the 2G spectrum scam, was today extended by a Delhi court till April 2, when the agency plans to file its first charge sheet in the case.

The order extending their remand was passed by special CBI Judge OP Saini after the accused were produced before the court through video conferencing.

"All the accused are remanded to judicial custody till April 2," the court said, extending their judicial remand.

The CBI, which was to file the charge sheet in the case on March 31, had earlier sought a two-day extension from the Supreme Court for finishing the task. The apex court had allowed the CBI plea.

It had sought extension of the deadline for filing the charge sheet saying that a detailed document running into over 80,000 pages along with various annexures was being prepared by the agency.

The three others whose judicial custody was also extended were former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's former personal secretary RK Chandolia and Swan telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa. The four are lodged in in Tihar Jail here.

Raja was arrested by the CBI along with Behura and Chandolia on February 2, while Balwa was arrested from Pune on February 8.