Supreme Court seeks widening of 2G spectrum probe

The Supreme Court on Wednesday favoured widening of the ambit of the ongoing probe into the 2G spectrum case, saying it should also include the period since 2001 when first-come-first-serve was the norm for spectrum allocation.

“The issue raised in the case is not only limited to Rs. 1.76 lakh crore but has a much wider compass. We would not like to prejudice the probe. But, what happened in 2001 needs to be looked into. It is for the CBI to investigate and find out,” a bench of justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly said.




The judges’ remarks assume importance as former Telecom Minister A. Raja has maintained that he was treading on the footsteps of his predecessors and was following the 2001 policy.

In 2001, government was not following the policy of auction but was allocating spectrum on first-come-first-serve basis.

The Supreme Court also remarked about the policy of transfer of dual technology — CDMA and GSM, saying that while the notification for the dual technology was issued on October 19, 2009, one of the service providers was given the permission a day earlier.

“What T. .R Addhyarujina (counsel for A. Raja) has pointed out is one thing more than what meets the eyes,” the bench said.

The bench further said that even the CAG has not gone into the issue of dual technology.

“This matter has not been investigated,” the bench said.