2G scam: Supreme Court asks Govt. to consider setting up a special court

New Delhi, Dec 8 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Central Government to consider setting up a special court to deal with the Rs.1.76 lakh crore 2G spectrum scam.

An apex court bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly said there was a need for a special court in view of the level of the offence as otherwise the objective of the prevention of Corruption Act and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) could not be achieved.

"Unless the government is prepared to create a special court, purpose will not be served. It is the need of the hour, we must have exclusive courts to deal with these offences," the bench observed.

Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium accepting that the case needs special expertise said he would consult the government and report back to the court.

"We have to get a special court if we want objective of the statue to be achieved. It cannot be done with existing manpower and infrastructure," the apex court bench said.

The apex court also pointed out that the government was enacting a number of laws, it was not creating adequate courts as the result of which the existing courts are over burdened and there is no way special cases like the present one can be dealt in an expeditious manner.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the residences of former Telecom Minister A Raja and four officials in connection with the 2G scam in Delhi and Chennai today.

The raids are also being carried out at the residences of former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, member Telecom K Sridhar, Deputy Director General, Department of Telecom, AK Srivastava and RK Chandolia.

The apex court, which is hearing various cases related to the 2G scam, had come down heavily on the CBI recently, asking why it had not questioned Raja even though the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) faulted him for under-valuing the 2G spectrum.

The court had also asked why officials who would have been in the know, like the former Telecom Secretary, had not been questioned. It also asked Raja why he had overruled the Prime Minister on 2G spectrum.

Raja was forced to resign last month under considerable pressure from the Congress, which continues to be attacked in Parliament by the Opposition on corruption charges.

The 2G spectrum allocation has reportedly caused an alleged loss of Rs.1.76 lakh crores to the Government, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has stated in a report. (ANI)