Apex court notice to CBI on PIL for probe against Maran
12 Jan 2013 6:10 AM IST
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which has sought probe against DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran for allegedly misusing office during his tenure as telecom minister. The PIL alleged that Maran had set up a BSNL exchange in Chennai and routed 323 lines to the offices of his family-owned Sun TV Network.
A bench headed by justice Aftab Alam sought responses of the CBI and BSNL on plea against Maran by a journalist, who alleged that CBI has buried the case under political pressure despite its inquiry revealing a loss of Rs 440 crore to the exchequer in the case.
‘The fraudulent arrangement was executed to facilitate and satisfy the data transfer requirements of Sun TV Network and has caused, on the estimates provided by the CBI in its preliminary inquiry a whopping loss of Rs 440 crores to BSNL and national exchequer,’ petitioner Swaminathan Gurumurthy said. It said that despite adverse findings in preliminary inquiry, neither the CBI nor the central government has taken any step to pursue the matter.
Gurumurthy also said that he had sent letter to the CBI director along with evidence but no further step was taken in the case. He also alleged that the CBI had recommended action in the case to telecom secretary in 2007 but the nod was not given.
‘Though as a minister he was entitled to only a couple of telephone lines for his official use and that too in Delhi where his official residence was, in the month of January 2007 these 323 lines were smuggled from his residence to the premises of Sun TV Network through separate and exclusive cables laid down by BSNL, at its own cost,’ the petition alleged.
A bench headed by justice Aftab Alam sought responses of the CBI and BSNL on plea against Maran by a journalist, who alleged that CBI has buried the case under political pressure despite its inquiry revealing a loss of Rs 440 crore to the exchequer in the case.
‘The fraudulent arrangement was executed to facilitate and satisfy the data transfer requirements of Sun TV Network and has caused, on the estimates provided by the CBI in its preliminary inquiry a whopping loss of Rs 440 crores to BSNL and national exchequer,’ petitioner Swaminathan Gurumurthy said. It said that despite adverse findings in preliminary inquiry, neither the CBI nor the central government has taken any step to pursue the matter.
Gurumurthy also said that he had sent letter to the CBI director along with evidence but no further step was taken in the case. He also alleged that the CBI had recommended action in the case to telecom secretary in 2007 but the nod was not given.
‘Though as a minister he was entitled to only a couple of telephone lines for his official use and that too in Delhi where his official residence was, in the month of January 2007 these 323 lines were smuggled from his residence to the premises of Sun TV Network through separate and exclusive cables laid down by BSNL, at its own cost,’ the petition alleged.
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