Who leaked Radia tapes? Probe ordered

Interceptions Supposed To Be Used By Govt Agencies Found Their Way Into The Media
New Delhi: The Centre has launched an investigation to identify the officials responsible for leaking conversations of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia with political and industry biggies.

Radia’s phones were tapped in an authorized manner, but the intercepts, which were supposed to be used by government agencies to investigate an alleged offence, found their way into the media. The probe was ordered after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the finance ministry agreed with industrialist Ratan Tata’s contention that Radia’s intercepted telephone conversations could be used only to probe the 2G spectrum scam and other possible offences. The investigation is to be completed by February 5 when a fresh hearing on Tata’s protest against the disclosure of Radia tapes is scheduled in the SC.

The PMO and the finance ministry agreed with Tata’s view that while granting permission to probe agencies to tap telephone conversations of individuals, the government must ensure that the intercepted talks do not get disclosed. Tata argued that unauthorized disclosure of public conversations constituted a breach of right to privacy. He also pointed out that the apex court had put right to privacy on the same legal footing as right to life guaranteed under Article 21.

The probe seems to mark a shift in the government’s stand. Responding to Tata’s grouse in the SC against the leakage of the tapes, the government had initially washed its hands of the matter, denying any role in it. It also said it was not possible to either stop the circulation of the leaked intercepts or retrieve them.

The “leakage” of the Radia tapes had caused an upheaval in political, business and media circles, embarrassing many of the protagonists as well as the government.

In its earlier affidavit, responding to the industrialist’s petition, the government had said Radia’s phones were intercepted for a year to probe a complaint alleging that she “was an agent of foreign intelligence agencies and was indulging in anti-national activities”. Radia had termed the complaint baseless and said she had already clarified the issue with the government.

Ajoint affidavit by the ministries of home and finance, as well as income tax department, had detailed the reasons for keeping the phones of Radia and her associates under surveillance from August 19, 2008. The complaint had also alleged that “Radia had within a short span of nine years built a business empire worth Rs 300 crore”. It gave details of the interception—“1,450 call records of the telephone of Ms Radia containing recordings of about 100 hours pertaining to the period between May 12, 2009 and July 9, 2009” and “5,800 calls for the period from July 9, 2009 to August 20, 2009”.

The Supreme Court had on December 2 issued notices to the government and the CBI on Tata’s petition terming the publication of the

excerpts from purely private conversations as nothing but character assassination. Tata had pleaded for the safe-keeping of the rest of the tapes and an inquiry to fix responsibility on the one who leaked the data from agencies investigating the 2G scam. He, however, made it clear that he was not standing in the way of the intercepted conversations being used for probe into the scam.