CBDT inquiring into Radia tapes, says Chidambaram

Dec 01, 2010 - Age Correspondent |

New Delhi

Home minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday said that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is inquiring into the alleged leak of tapes of telephone conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and politicians, journalists and industrialists.

“We have not ordered an inquiry. The CBDT is inquiring into the matter... It was the CBDT which had ordered the interceptions and it is looking into the alleged leakage of the tapes,” he said at a press conference.
Government sources on Monday said the CBDT and the Intelligence Bureau are probing who all had access to the secret tapes and documents and how they got leaked.
Meanwhile, minister of state for home Ajay Maken said in the Lok Sabha that interception of telephones was permissible under Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act.
“To ensure that the power to intercept is utilised in a strict legal manner, an institutional mechanism exists at the Centre and at the state level, to both, authorise interception and, to conduct an oversight of the power so exercised,” he said in a written reply.

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