2G case: CBI says Balwa's petition has sinister design

New Delhi, May 28: CBI today argued in a special court that the petition filed by Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, seeking permission to withdraw answers given by him earlier to court in the 2G scam case trial, was nothing but a "sinister design" to take the court for a "ride".

During arguments on the plea filed by Balwa, an accused in the 2G case, Special Public Prosecutor U U Lalit submitted that Balwa's earlier contention that he had failed to understand the questions asked by the court under the provisions of the CrPC was not an "inadvertent error" and it was a "smart and calculated" move.

"This was not an inadvertent error. It was a smart, calculated move. It is a sinister design and it cannot be put under the carpet," Lalit told Special CBI Judge O P Saini, who reserved the order for tomorrow.

He contended that it was a "breach of faith" reposed by the court on the accused and they must be fair to the court. "This is not something pardonable and it cannot be ignored. Everything was done in a smart, calculated design. How can he (Balwa) sign on the answers (which is on the court's record) if he did not understand the questions," he said.

He said that if CBI did not bring it to the court's notice, the same would have gone in the record. "It is nothing but falsehood at every juncture. This is the most reprehensible conduct. There is no doubt that we have been taken for a ride," he said.

During the hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and advocate Vijay Aggarwal, who appeared for Balwa, told the court that it was only an inadvertent error and nothing had been done deliberately.

PTI