2G Scam Letter to Court and a breather for the PM

In a sudden development during the court proceedings yesterday Justice A.K Ganguly, part of the Supreme Court Bench that is currently hearing the 2G Spectrum case produced in open court a letter which he had received anonymously, which alleges that the judges in this matter have been “managed”.

In a sudden development during the court proceedings yesterday Justice A.K Ganguly, part of the Supreme Court Bench that is currently hearing the 2G Spectrum case produced in open court a letter which he had received anonymously, which alleges that the judges in this matter have been “managed”.

The Times of India reports the Bench allowed the counsels of the parties to examine the letter. Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium, Senior Advocates K.K. Venugopal, T.R. Andhyarujina and Prashant Bhushan examined the letter and requested the court to ignore it.

The letter addressed to the Chief Justice of India, Justice S.H.Kapadia alleges that the former Telecom Minster had attempted to approach the judges by way of their family members, in order to get a favourable verdict. The letter, which was one paragraph long called upon the judges to not let the course of justice be derailed.

Prashant Bushan was of the view that, "The general tendency amongst honest judges is to recuse from hearing the case" to which the Bench agreed, but stated that that was their first reaction and they have refused to succumb to it.

The Bench dismissed the letter stating that “This will not affect us,” deep anguish was expressed by the Bench at the fact that these letters were reaching the court. The Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium who is appearing on behalf of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) suggested that there should be a filtering mechanism in the registry to prevent such letters from reaching the Bench.

The Judges observed that "This tendency (of writing letters to the judges) is going to increase and such incidents are going to rise in future. This is the reason why a majority of young and bright advocates do not want to join the Bench”.

Justice G.S. Singhvi heads the two Judge Bench along with Justice A.K.Ganguly. They are hearing the petition filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) and the former Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh with regards to the telecom scandal. Prashant Bushan is representing CPIL in the suit, while the Solicitor General is appearing for the Department of Telecom and Senior Advocate K.K. Venugopal is appearing for the CBI. T.R. Andhyarujina is appearing on behalf of the former Telecom Minister. The Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati is appearing for the Prime Minister’s Office.  

The Bench also, reserved its ruling on the conduct of the Prime Minister in the handling of the matter and has asked for additional submissions on some of the issues it raised. The sale of telecom licences at such low prices has led to a loss in revenue of almost Rs. 17,742 crore ($39 billion) to the Central Exchequer.