2G: Mittal, Ruia appear before special court; next hearing on 29 April

The Special CBI Court in Delhi trying the 2G spectrum allocation case today set 29 April for further hearing the question of additional spectrum allocation to some companies, in which Bharti Airtel chairman and managing director Sunil Mittal, Essar Group promoter Ravi Ruia and former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh were among those summoned as accused.

Mittal, Ruia and Ghosh had appeared before judge O P Saini, who adjourned the matter following an order passed by the Supreme Court on 18 April. The apex court postponed the hearing in the trial court after Justice A R Dave had recused himself from hearing the case.

Earlier, Supreme Court judge Vikramajit Sen, who was part of a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, had also recused from hearing the petitions filed by Mittal and Ruia challenging the order of the trial court summoning them as accused in the case.

Justice Saini today marked the presence of Mittal, Ruia and Ghosh and said, "In view of the order dated 18 April of the Supreme Court, the matter is adjourned for 29 April."

The court extended the personal bonds furnished by Mittal and Ruia on 16 April till the next hearing.

One of the accused, Canada-based Asim Ghosh, formerly the managing director of accused firm Hutchison Max Telecom Pvt Ltd, is yet to be served with a summons issued against him in the case.

The special court had on 19 March summoned Mittal, Ruia - who was then a director in one of the accused companies, Sterling Cellular Ltd - and Asim Ghosh.

Their names were not mentioned in the chargesheet filed by Central Bureau of Investigation on 21 December last year.

Besides these three, the court had also summoned as accused Shyamal Ghosh and three telecom firms - Bharti Cellular Ltd, Hutchison Max Telecom Pvt Ltd (now Vodafone India Ltd) and Sterling Cellular Ltd (now Vodafone Mobile Service Ltd).

The CBI, in its charges, had named the three telecom companies as accused in the case relating to the department of telecommunications (DoT) allocating additional spectrum which had allegedly resulted in a loss of Rs846 crore to the exchequer.