2G: Court issues notice to Essar-Loop promoters on CBI plea
New Delhi, April 20: The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to the Essar-Loop promoters on a CBI plea challenging a trial court judgment that acquitted them in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
Justice S.P. Garg issued notice to Essar promoters Anshuman Ruia and Ravi Ruia, Essar Group Director Vikash Saraf, Loop Telecom promoters Kiran Khaitan and her husband I.P. Khaitan and three companies and listed the matter for further hearing on May 25.
The Central Bureau of Investigation told the court that the trial court had failed to appreciate the evidence on record which proved that the accused had hatched a conspiracy to cheat the Department of Telecom (DoT) for obtaining spectrum licence.
The agency also said that the special judge -- dealing exclusively with the 2G cases -- failed to appreciate law in proper perspective.
"The evidence on record clearly establishes the offence committed by the accused persons," the plea said.
"The falsity of representation was known not only to (Essar Group Director - Strategy and Planning) Saraf but to all accused persons and it was made with a dishonest intention to deliberately conceal the true ownership and control of the applicant company (Loop Telecom Ltd) and to induce the DoT to issue letters of intent, enter into licence agreements and eventually allocate spectrum to the company," the plea said.
The various adverse observations made by the judge were "highly unwarranted", unjustified and in any case, deserved to be expunged, it said.
On December 21, 2017, the special judge acquitted Essar promoters Anshuman Ruia and Ravi Ruia, Saraf, Khaitan and her husband I.P. Khaitan. The court also let off three companies -- Loop Telecom Pvt Ltd, Loop Mobile India Ltd and Essar Tele Holding.
The CBI filed its third charge sheet on December 12, 2011, including the names of Essar promoters, Loop promoters and Saraf, and companies -- Loop Telecom Pvt Ltd, Loop Mobile India Ltd and Essar Tele Holding -- and recognised them as accused.
The investigating agency had alleged that they had cheated the DoT by using Loop Telecom as a "front" to secure 2G licences in 2008 in violation of Clause 8 of the Unified Access Service License (UASL) Guidelines.
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Cold grips Delhi, minimum temperature settles around 3 degrees
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi woke up to intense cold conditions on Monday as the minimum temperature dipped to around 3 degrees Celsius at several weather stations across the city, making it the coldest January day since 2023.
On January 16, 2023, the minimum temperature had plunged to 1.4 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
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Station-wise data recorded at 8.30 am showed the Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's principal weather station, registered a minimum temperature of 3.2 degrees Celsius, which was 4.2 notches below normal.
Palam recorded a minimum temperature of 3.3 degrees Celsius, while Lodhi Road logged 3 degrees Celsius.
Ridge recorded a minimum of 4.2 degrees Celsius and Ayanagar reported 3.2 degrees Celsius, the IMD data showed.
The IMD said the maximum temperature in the national capital is expected to touch 19 degrees Celsius.
It said cold wave conditions are likely to persist over the national capital over the next two days.
Delhi's air quality, meanwhile, remained poor.
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the city's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 298 in the 'poor' category.
Around 20 monitoring stations recorded 'very poor' air quality, while the remaining stations were in the 'poor' category. Nehru Nagar recorded the worst air quality with an AQI of 344.
According to the CPCB classification, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
