2G scam: Apex Court concerned over leakage of info in sealed cover

The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over the leakage of name given to it in a sealed cover relating to alleged interference in a 2G spectrum scam case. "How has the name of the person which was provided in a sealed cover found mention in some newspapers," a bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu asked senior advocate K K Venugopal, who is the counsel for CBI and Enforcement Directorate in the 2G scam.

The leakage relates to an alleged attempt by an accused to cover up the role of an individual of a company.

"Not only the name is tarnished but also the career, future and prospect in life," the bench, also comprising Justices S A Bobde and Arun Mishra observed.

At the outset, the CJI said, "I blasted my court masters and one of them was weeping" and it became clear that it was "not happening from our side".

Venugopal agreed with the CJI but said, "this has been happening frequently" and suggested that an inquiry in such type of incident by booking the alleged persons would help in stopping such incidents.

He also referred to an earlier instance when the then CJI tried to plug the loopholes but it did not yield the desired results.

However, after brief deliberation, the CJI said it was not an appropriate bench to go into the matters arising out of the 2G scam and a special bench would be set up to hear it on July 23. 

Venugopal, who had filed the status report in a sealed cover on April 20 about the progress made by the CBI in the investigation in the scam, had read out a portion of it and had said that an audio tape has been made available to the agency and its authenticity has been verified that the person associated with the company allegedly tried to make an offer of bribe.