High Court admits CBI’s appeal against 2G scam case acquittals

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday admitted a CBI appeal against the acquittal of former telecom minister A Raja and 16 others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, paving the way for hearing in the matter six years after the plea was filed by the agency.

Admitting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appeal, the high court said there are “some contradictions” in the trial court’s judgment which require “deeper examination”. It granted the CBI “leave to appeal”, saying the probe agency has made out arguable points.

“Leave to appeal” is a formal permission granted by a court to a party to challenge a decision in a higher court.

“The court on the basis of material on record, and after going through the sworn testimonies, material on record, impugned judgment and the submissions made at bar by both the parties has reached on an objective satisfaction that there is a prima facie case which requires deeper examination and re-appreciation/re-appraisal of entire evidence,” Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said.

The appeal was filed by the CBI in March 2018, but the aspect of ‘leave to appeal’ was heard by seven different judges before coming to Justice Sharma who reserved the verdict on March 14

The special court had on December 21, 2017, acquitted Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and others in the CBI and ED cases related to the 2G scam. On March 20, 2018, the CBI had approached the high court, challenging the special court’s judgment.

The high court said the case pertains to economic offence which constitutes a separate class and required to be handled with a different approach and with little more sensitivity.

The high court said the counsel for the acquitted persons and firms have stated that though the prosecution witnesses did not support the case, the CBI did not declare them hostile and many of the points remained unexplained.