New Delhi, Dec. 21 (Agencies): A special court on Thursday acquitted former telecom minister A. Raja, DMK leader Kanimozhi and top business executives of graft and money-laundering in the grant of 2G telecom licences after the prosecution failed to prove its charges.

The court, set up to handle only the telecoms cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, said the CBI had failed to prove the charges. The case relates to the sale of lucrative telecoms permits bundled with airwaves in 2008. The Comptroller & Auditor General had said the sale may have cost the government Rs 1.76 lakh crore in lost revenue.

In the packed courtroom, the judge O.P. Saini said, “I have absolutely no hesitation in holding that prosecution has miserably failed to prove any of the charges against any of the accused.”

The CBI had alleged that there was a loss of Rs 30,984 crore to the exchequer in the allocation of licences.

The three cases decided on Thursday had a total of 35 accused including several companies.

Others allowed to walk free in the main case were former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's erstwhile private secretary R.K. Chandolia, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Unitech managing director Sanjay Chandra and three top executives of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) — Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair.

The scandal dented the fortunes of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, which oversaw the sale of the licences at prices said to be way below market levels, and triggered street protests.

It was one of the several scandals that emerged during Singh's second term, hobbling policymaking and diverting the government's attention away from pushing forward crucial economic reforms.

In 2012, the Supreme Court ordered 122 licences held by eight operators to be revoked, declaring the licences illegal and the process “wholly arbitrary, capricious and contrary to public interest”.

Raja and Kanimozhi, daughter of M. Karunanidhi, the chief of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, were also let off in another case, this one lodged by the Enforcement Directorate under the money laundering law arising out of the 2G scam.

The ED had also named Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal as an accused in the case, in which it had alleged that Swan Telecom promoters had paid Rs 200 crore to DMK-run Kalaignar TV.

Along with them, 16 others including Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka of STPL, Asif Balwa and Rajiv Aggarwal of Kusegaon Fruits & Vegetables, film producer Karim Morani, P. Amirtham and Sharad Kumar, Director of Kalaignar TV, were also acquitted in the money laundering case.

Judge Saini, whose court was set up on March 14, 2011, also acquitted Essar Group promoters Ravi Kant Ruia and Anshuman Ruia and six others in a separate case arising out of the 2G scam probe.

Besides Ruias, Loop Telecom Promoters I.P. Khaitan and Kiran Khaitan and Vikash Saraf, one of the Essar Group Directors, Loop Telecom Ltd, Loop Mobile (India) Ltd and Essar Teleholdings Ltd were also acquitted, in the third case.

The first case, prosecuted by CBI, had 17 accused, while the second matter, pursued by ED, had 19 accused. The third one had eight accused including Essar promoters.

The verdict was welcomed by all accused including Raja and Kanimozhi, who were greeted with cheers from party colleagues present in court premises here.

Immediately after the pronouncement of the verdict, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, who was one of those on whose petition the Supreme Court had ordered CBI probe into the scam, said the government should file appeals in the Delhi High Court against the acquittals of the accused. Swamy had not joined the BJP at that time.

The CBI said “We are yet to receive the complete judgement. We will study it, take legal opinion and decide future action.”

Enforcement Directorate sources said that it would appeal against the special court verdict.

New Delhi, Dec. 21 (Agencies): A special court on Thursday acquitted former telecom minister A. Raja, lawmaker Kanimozhi and top business executives of graft and money-laundering in the grant of 2G telecom licences after the prosecution failed to prove its charges.

The court, set up to handle only the telecoms cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, said the CBI had failed to prove the charges. The case relates to the sale of lucrative telecoms permits bundled with airwaves in 2008. The Comptroller & Auditor General had said the sale may have cost the government Rs 1.76 lakh crore in lost revenue.

In the packed courtroom, the judge O.P. Saini said, “I have absolutely no hesitation in holding that prosecution has miserably failed to prove any of the charges against any of the accused.”

The CBI had alleged that there was a loss of Rs 30,984 crore to the exchequer in the allocation of licences.

The three cases decided on Thursday had a total of 35 accused including several companies.

Others allowed to walk free in the main case were former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's erstwhile private secretary R.K. Chandolia, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Unitech managing director Sanjay Chandra and three top executives of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) — Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair.

The scandal dented the fortunes of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, which oversaw the sale of the licences at prices said to be way below market levels, and triggered street protests.

It was one of the several scandals that emerged during Singh's second term, hobbling policymaking and diverting the government's attention away from pushing forward crucial economic reforms.

In 2012, the Supreme Court ordered 122 licences held by eight operators to be revoked, declaring the licences illegal and the process “wholly arbitrary, capricious and contrary to public interest”.

Raja and Kanimozhi, daughter of M. Karunanidhi, the chief of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, were also let off in another case, this one lodged by the Enforcement Directorate under the money laundering law arising out of the 2G scam.

The ED had also named Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal as an accused in the case, in which it had alleged that Swan Telecom promoters had paid Rs 200 crore to DMK-run Kalaignar TV.

Along with them, 16 others including Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka of STPL, Asif Balwa and Rajiv Aggarwal of Kusegaon Fruits & Vegetables, film producer Karim Morani, P. Amirtham and Sharad Kumar, Director of Kalaignar TV, were also acquitted in the money laundering case.

Judge Saini, whose court was set up on March 14, 2011, also acquitted Essar Group promoters Ravi Kant Ruia and Anshuman Ruia and six others in a separate case arising out of the 2G scam probe.

Besides Ruias, Loop Telecom Promoters I.P. Khaitan and Kiran Khaitan and Vikash Saraf, one of the Essar Group Directors, Loop Telecom Ltd, Loop Mobile (India) Ltd and Essar Teleholdings Ltd were also acquitted, in the third case.

The first case, prosecuted by CBI, had 17 accused, while the second matter, pursued by ED, had 19 accused. The third one had eight accused including Essar promoters.

The verdict was welcomed by all accused including Raja and Kanimozhi, who were greeted with cheers from party colleagues present in court premises here.

Immediately after the pronouncement of the verdict, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, who was one of those on whose petition the Supreme Court had ordered CBI probe into the scam, said the government should file appeals in the Delhi High Court against the acquittals of the accused. Swamy had not joined the BJP at that time.

The CBI said “We are yet to receive the complete judgement. We will study it, take legal opinion and decide future action.”

Enforcement Directorate sources said that it would appeal against the special court verdict.