The 2G Spectrum Scam: Did it ever happen?
The 2G spectrum scam case verdict has been delivered by a special CBI court on 21st December 2017. The court acquitted all 18 members(including the then telecom minister A Raja) in a case that was filed seven years ago and was a big cause that led to NDA VICTORY IN 2014.
The verdict raises certain questions on several parties such as CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General ), CBI (Central Bureau Of Investigation) and conspicuously the Modi government.
Let us go back and study the whole case and decide the verdict ourselves!.
I will enumerate the case impartially, giving details of the accusations and the verdict by CBI court
History and Facts of the case
Until the year 1994, there was government control on telecom sector. In 1994, National telecommunication policy was presented that led to the liberalisation of the telecom sector that brought many Indian private players and later foreign players to the telecom sector.
In the alleged 2G scam during UPA I, the main accusation was the allocation of spectrum at throwaway prices.
Before we move forward let's understand what a spectrum is:
Spectrum is the range of electromagnetic radio frequencies used to transmit sound, data, and video across the country. It is what carries voice between cell phones, television shows from broadcasters to your TV, and online information from one computer to the next, wirelessly.
In short, spectrum allocation means to sell the rights (licenses) to transmit signals over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and to assign the spectrum resources (these are already present, thus a natural resource) to various companies.
In the alleged 2G scam during UPA I, the main accusation was the allocation of spectrum at throwaway prices.
Before we move forward let's understand what a spectrum is:
Spectrum is the range of electromagnetic radio frequencies used to transmit sound, data, and video across the country. It is what carries voice between cell phones, television shows from broadcasters to your TV, and online information from one computer to the next, wirelessly.
In short, spectrum allocation means to sell the rights (licenses) to transmit signals over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and to assign the spectrum resources (these are already present, thus a natural resource) to various companies.
How is spectrum allocation done?
There are mainly two ways
- Auction, (highest bidder wins)
- Fixed price (This could lead to govt favoring certain companies by manipulating agreement)
- Other ways such as First come first serve (In this case also, a company needs to fulfill eligibility)
Case Facts:
- On 25 September 2007, the application deadline was set to 1st oct.
- Rate for 2008 was decided on the basis of 2001 (The no of mobile phone users have grown manifold since 2001)
- 575 applications were received until 1st Oct
- On 10 Jan 2008, the Telecom minister on the recommendation of officials of DOT or TRAI ( but he did not do it by himself, He was instructed to do so) changed the method from market auction to first come first serve basis. (A Raja is accused of bribe of RS 3000 crore for changing dates)
- cut off date advanced to 25th September. Therefore many applicants became ineligible.
- It (DOT) announced on its website that those applying between 3.30 and 4.30 pm would be granted licenses in accordance with policy.
- Private companies like Unitech, Swan Telecom, Tata telecom services got licenses. Swan Telecom later sold 45% stake to Etisalat for Rs. 4200 crore. Unitech got the license for Rs. 1661 crore and sold 60% stake for Rs. 6200 crore.
- The CBI alleges that Kanimozhi ( DMK MP and daughter of M Karunanidhi's daughter) helped A Raja to get DB Realty promoter Shahid Balwa to circuitously route Rs.200 crore to Kalaignar TV.
On the basis of above facts, we can clearly conclude that something is wrong here. According to a CAG report, there was no advice taken from TRAI regarding the applications of ineligible companies like swan
On 13th March 2010, The Supreme Court upholds the Delhi High Court ruling that the cutoff-date advancement was illegal.
Supreme Court in a judgment has said that method of allocating scarce resources like spectrum is purely the decision of the government. Whether they use auction or FCFS or any other mode is their prerogative. However, the decision should not be arbitrary, malafide or lacking in transparency.
The Supreme Court on February 20, 2012, declared the allotment of the spectrum as "unconstitutional and arbitrary". The apex court quashed all 122 licences issued by Raja and imposed Rs 50 million fine on Unitech, Swan and Tata Teleservices.
The Radia controversy
In November 2010, OPEN magazine carried a story which reported transcripts of some of the telephone conversations of Nira Radia with senior journalists, politicians, and corporate house.The Central Bureau of Investigation has announced that they have 5,851 recordings of phone conversations by Radia, some of which outline Radia's attempts to broker deals in relation to the 2G spectrum sale. The tapes appear to demonstrate how Radia attempted to use some media persons to influence the decision to appoint A. Raja as telecom minister.( source: Wikipedia)
Well, I think there are enough facts now to induce that there was a scam.
VERDICT: ALL ACCUSED ACQUITTED!
What the judge said
“There is no evidence on the record produced before the Court indicating any criminality in the acts allegedly committed by the accused persons relating to fixation of cut-off date, manipulation of first-come-first-served policy, allocation of spectrum to dual technology applicants, ignoring ineligibility of STPL and Unitech group companies, non-revision of entry fee and transfer of Rs.200 crore to Kalaignar TV (P) Limited as illegal gratification."
He further added "I may also add that for the last about seven years, on all working days, summer vacation included, I religiously sat in the open Court from 10 AM to 5 PM, awaiting for someone with some legally admissible evidence in his possession, but all in vain. Not a single soul turned up. This indicates that everybody was going by public perception created by rumor, gossip, and speculation. However, public perception has no place in judicial proceedings"
Read the full text here
In short, CBI was unable to produce any material evidence for its allegations in a short! period of seven years. Seems that everything was cooked up to shatter UPA image.
According to A Raja, the Rate was decided on the basis of 2001 to ensure cheaper rates for the consumers and an enhanced fee would lead to a lower number of licenses and further increase rates for consumers. (Mukesh Ambani acquired 4G spectrum at 1/10 the of 1,76,000 crores, of course with the help of our Hon'ble PM Modi, looks like a scam too).
The court said that the prosecution twisted the first cum first serve policy from a two-step process to a one-step process and the whole case was on misinterpretation and choreography of facts.
The court has acquitted all the accused of major charges, I would recommend you to read the following article to get a more detailed view of the judgment of the court
http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/decoding-the-2g-spectrum-verdict-charge-by-charge-how-case-collapsed-a-raja-kanimozhi-4993622/
Regarding the 1.76 lakh crore loss, as said it was notional (This means the govt could have earned this much revenue if it auctioned the 2g license).This had no role in the proceedings of the case.
Was there a loss to govt? That's another matter, but A Raja was certainly not guilty.
But someone is guilty!
Here is what I came across
Source :https://swarajyamag.com/politics/2g-case-leave-alone-the-scam-even-the-acquittal-reeks-of-upa
Anyway, now we move towards the end of the article
The matter was already under the supervision of Supreme court, and an appeal to the High court is unlikely to change anything. Anyway, I will keep updating this post as I find something new.
Well I have something to say, there are two cases now
THE SCAM HAPPENED - If the scam happened as the above image alludes, it was due to the inefficiency of the system and the notional loss theory is still not clear. If the license had been issued for the said 1.76 lakh crore, the prices for the telecom(call charges, etc) would have been substantially high. Therefore we need to unearth more evidence that could lead CBI the right path.
THE SCAM DID NOT HAPPEN- This is a relatively worse scenario. If this comes out to be true, then we really need to question the incumbent government and several high authority institutes working in our country.
I came across this once while studying Indian politics
BJP AND CONGRESS
DIVIDED BY IDEOLOGY
UNITED BY CORRUPTION
This is indeed true
.
“There is no evidence on the record produced before the Court indicating any criminality in the acts allegedly committed by the accused persons relating to fixation of cut-off date, manipulation of first-come-first-served policy, allocation of spectrum to dual technology applicants, ignoring ineligibility of STPL and Unitech group companies, non-revision of entry fee and transfer of Rs.200 crore to Kalaignar TV (P) Limited as illegal gratification."
He further added "I may also add that for the last about seven years, on all working days, summer vacation included, I religiously sat in the open Court from 10 AM to 5 PM, awaiting for someone with some legally admissible evidence in his possession, but all in vain. Not a single soul turned up. This indicates that everybody was going by public perception created by rumor, gossip, and speculation. However, public perception has no place in judicial proceedings"
Read the full text here
In short, CBI was unable to produce any material evidence for its allegations in a short! period of seven years. Seems that everything was cooked up to shatter UPA image.
According to A Raja, the Rate was decided on the basis of 2001 to ensure cheaper rates for the consumers and an enhanced fee would lead to a lower number of licenses and further increase rates for consumers. (Mukesh Ambani acquired 4G spectrum at 1/10 the of 1,76,000 crores, of course with the help of our Hon'ble PM Modi, looks like a scam too).
The court said that the prosecution twisted the first cum first serve policy from a two-step process to a one-step process and the whole case was on misinterpretation and choreography of facts.
The court has acquitted all the accused of major charges, I would recommend you to read the following article to get a more detailed view of the judgment of the court
http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/decoding-the-2g-spectrum-verdict-charge-by-charge-how-case-collapsed-a-raja-kanimozhi-4993622/
Regarding the 1.76 lakh crore loss, as said it was notional (This means the govt could have earned this much revenue if it auctioned the 2g license).This had no role in the proceedings of the case.
Was there a loss to govt? That's another matter, but A Raja was certainly not guilty.
But someone is guilty!
Here is what I came across
Source :https://swarajyamag.com/politics/2g-case-leave-alone-the-scam-even-the-acquittal-reeks-of-upa
Anyway, now we move towards the end of the article
The matter was already under the supervision of Supreme court, and an appeal to the High court is unlikely to change anything. Anyway, I will keep updating this post as I find something new.
Well I have something to say, there are two cases now
THE SCAM HAPPENED - If the scam happened as the above image alludes, it was due to the inefficiency of the system and the notional loss theory is still not clear. If the license had been issued for the said 1.76 lakh crore, the prices for the telecom(call charges, etc) would have been substantially high. Therefore we need to unearth more evidence that could lead CBI the right path.
THE SCAM DID NOT HAPPEN- This is a relatively worse scenario. If this comes out to be true, then we really need to question the incumbent government and several high authority institutes working in our country.
I came across this once while studying Indian politics
BJP AND CONGRESS
DIVIDED BY IDEOLOGY
UNITED BY CORRUPTION
This is indeed true
Thought can organize the world so well that you are no longer able to see it.
.
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