Press release on FCFS issued on Behura's directions: 2G witness

A former senior DoT official today told a Delhi court that he had issued on January 10, 2008 the controversial amended press release on the policy for allocation of 2G spectrum licences on the directions of former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, an accused in the case.

CBI witness and former Deputy Director General (AS) AK Srivastava in the Department of Telecom said he himself had not issued the press release about the policy of first-come- first-served (FCFS) to be followed in the grant of Unified Access Services (UAS) licences.

The agency, in its charge sheet, has said that before the press release was issued, key accused and former Telecom Minister A Raja had fraudulently portrayed that the amended draft of Letters of Intent (LoI) had the consent of the then solicitor general.

Srivastava had earlier told the court that as per the amended press release on the FCFS policy for UAS licences, whosoever complied with the LoI conditions first was to be granted the licence first.

He had also said under the earlier FCFS policy, the application which was received first, was processed first and if found eligible, was given the LoI. The licence was given to the applicant who complied with the LoI conditions.

During his cross-examination, Srivastava told Special CBI Judge O P Saini, that he had not recorded the inconsistencies between the press release of January 10, 2008 and his note of January 7, 2008 as he was not given the file by Behura who had asked him to "immediately" issue the press release which was approved by Raja.

"In the early morning of January 10, 2008, when the approved copy of press release was given to me by secretary (T), I was asked to issue it immediately and hand over to him (Behura) a duly issued copy of the press release.

"I was not given the file and that is why I did not process it on the file, but orally informed Siddharth Behura about the inconsistencies before he noted in the file that the amended press release has been released," he said.

In his cross-examination, Srivastava added that he had not told the CBI about these inconsistencies as he was not asked about it.

Srivastava, whose cross examination would continue tomorrow, also denied that the decision to set up four counters for distribution of LoIs was taken by him alone in consultation with officers of Access Services (AS) cell.

"It is wrong to suggest that there was no meeting chaired by Siddharth Behura and attended by R K Chandolia and myself on January 10, 2008 regarding setting up of four counters for distribution of LOIs. It is wrong to suggest that Behura did not tell me that the scheme of setting up of four counters for distribution of LOIs, as allegedly suggested by Chandolia, was correct one.

"It is wrong to suggest that this decision was taken by me alone in consultation with officers of AS cell. It is wrong to suggest that Behura did not ask me to distribute the LOIs on January 10,2008," he said.

The CBI in its first charge sheet filed on April 2, 2011 had said the "ill conceived" design of establishing four counters to distribute LoIs to companies made a "mockery" of First-Come-First-Served (FCFS) policy.

Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi, along with others, are facing trial for various offences like criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and faking documents under the Indian Penal Code and for the offences of abusing official position, getting bribe and criminal misconduct by public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The offences entail punishment ranging from six months in jail to life imprisonment.