The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed its anguish over agencies sitting idle on Niira Radia tapes, for five years on information gathered from tapped conversations. The court said is is not a happy situation.
A bench of Justice G S Singhvi and Justice V Gopala Gowda said the conversations were tapped five years back but government authorities remained idle and questioned whether they were waiting for the order of the court to act.
‘The tapping was done five years ago, what have they (government authorities) done so far? Were they waiting for court’s order?,’the bench asked.
‘It is not a happy situation that action will be taken only after court’s order,’ the bench said. The court asked the IT department to place before the bench all original records pertaining to authorisation of tapping of Radia’s phones. It directed the IT department to apprise it whether the officers entrusted with the task of tapping had informed their seniors about the contents of the recording and whether CBI was informed about criminality with regard to matters referred to in the conversations.
It directed the IT department to comply with its order by 6 August when the matter will be further heard.
On Wednesday, the apex court had said that it would direct a CBI probe into several aspects arising out of the tapped telephonic conversations of the former corporate lobbyist. The court, which perused the report and transcripts prepared by its specially constituted team of investigators, had said ‘some of the items highlighted will become the subject matter of investigation’.
The analysis of the conversations was done by a six-member special team constituted by the apex court and comprising five from CBI and one from Income Tax department. The special team was set up by the apex court on 21 February to examine the contents of tapped telephonic conversations of Radia.
The government had recorded 180 days of Radia’s conversations--first from 20 August 2008 onwards for 60 days and then from 19 October for another 60 days. Later, on 11 May 11 2009, her phone was again put on surveillance for another 60 days following a fresh order given on 8 May.
The conversations were recorded as part of surveillance of Radia’s phone on a complaint to the Finance Minister on 16 November 2007 alleging that within a span of nine years she had built up a business empire worth Rs 300 crore.
The Radia tapes controversy relates to the telephonic conversations between Nira Radia, a political lobbyist and an acquaintance of the (then) Indian telecom minister A. Raja, and with senior journalists, politicians, and corporate houses, taped by the Indian IT Department in 2008–09.
A bench of Justice G S Singhvi and Justice V Gopala Gowda said the conversations were tapped five years back but government authorities remained idle and questioned whether they were waiting for the order of the court to act.
‘The tapping was done five years ago, what have they (government authorities) done so far? Were they waiting for court’s order?,’the bench asked.
‘It is not a happy situation that action will be taken only after court’s order,’ the bench said. The court asked the IT department to place before the bench all original records pertaining to authorisation of tapping of Radia’s phones. It directed the IT department to apprise it whether the officers entrusted with the task of tapping had informed their seniors about the contents of the recording and whether CBI was informed about criminality with regard to matters referred to in the conversations.
It directed the IT department to comply with its order by 6 August when the matter will be further heard.
On Wednesday, the apex court had said that it would direct a CBI probe into several aspects arising out of the tapped telephonic conversations of the former corporate lobbyist. The court, which perused the report and transcripts prepared by its specially constituted team of investigators, had said ‘some of the items highlighted will become the subject matter of investigation’.
The analysis of the conversations was done by a six-member special team constituted by the apex court and comprising five from CBI and one from Income Tax department. The special team was set up by the apex court on 21 February to examine the contents of tapped telephonic conversations of Radia.
The government had recorded 180 days of Radia’s conversations--first from 20 August 2008 onwards for 60 days and then from 19 October for another 60 days. Later, on 11 May 11 2009, her phone was again put on surveillance for another 60 days following a fresh order given on 8 May.
The conversations were recorded as part of surveillance of Radia’s phone on a complaint to the Finance Minister on 16 November 2007 alleging that within a span of nine years she had built up a business empire worth Rs 300 crore.
The Radia tapes controversy relates to the telephonic conversations between Nira Radia, a political lobbyist and an acquaintance of the (then) Indian telecom minister A. Raja, and with senior journalists, politicians, and corporate houses, taped by the Indian IT Department in 2008–09.