Leakage of Tata-Radia tapped talks being probed: Govt tells SC

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Government today told theSupreme Court that it was taking seriously the issue ofleakage of conversation between Tata chief Ratan Tata andcorporate lobbyist Niira Radia and that an inquiry has beenordered into it.

"The government views the disclosure of suchinformation seriously and in this context, an inquiry hasbeen ordered," an affidavit filed by the government said.

It also denied the allegation of Tata that it hadadopted a lackadaisical attitude on a petition filed by Tata.

"I deny that the government has adopted alackadaisical attitude or that it was standing by and allowingleaked material of this kind to be freely distributed andpublished," the two-page affidavit filed by AdditionalDirector of Income Tax (Investigations) said.

The affidavit said that by an office memorandum issuedon December 27, 2010, the Ministry of Finance appointed twosenior officers to inquire into the leakage of "classifieddocuments/telephonic intercepts".

"The terms of reference of the inquiry committee aredetailed and comprehensive and reflect the concern of theMinistry of Finance to properly investigate the matter and totake a comprehensive view of the subject," it said.

The government said it is not correct on the part ofTata to allege that it is its perception that the leakage ofsuch material and its consequential publication were not amatter of concern.

"It is not suggested by the government that it isunder no duty to ensure that the wire tapped material is notleaked," the affidavit said. .