The CBI on Friday filed a chargesheet against former telecom secretary Shyamal Ghosh and three private cellular companies for their alleged role in irregularities committed in awarding additional spectrum licences during the tenure of former communications minister Pramod Mahajan.
The agency, sources said, has not named Pramod Mahajan as an accused in the chargesheet as he is deceased.
The CBI chargesheet, filed before special CBI judge O.P. Saini, named three telecom firms — Bharti Cellular Ltd, Hutchison Max Pvt. Ltd and Sterling Cellular Ltd — as accused, apart from Mr Shyamal Ghosh.
The judge fixed January 14 for consideration of the chargesheet.
“The CBI in the chargesheet named only private companies as accused and mentioned that they have not found anything against the promoters of the accused telecom companies,” sources said. The agency makes it clear in its 57-page chargesheet that Pramod Mahajan had conspired with Mr Ghosh to benefit the private companies, sources added.
Mr J.R. Gupta (then DDG, value added services) has been made an approver in the case after initially being named an accused in the FIR. In the chargesheet, the CBI has pegged the loss to the exchequer at `846.44 crore, more than the `508.22 crore mentioned in the FIR and JPC report. All accused have been chargesheeted for the offence of criminal conspiracy under Sec. 120-B of the IPC and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Investigation has established that the decision regarding allocation of additional spectrum to three telecom firms, dated January 31, 2002, was taken in “undue haste” pursuant to the “criminal conspiracy hatched amongst the accused public servants” — late Pramod Mahajan (the then communications minister), Mr Shyamal Ghosh (the then secretary, DoT) and the telecom companies, the CBI said in its chargesheet.
As for Mr J.R. Gupta, the CBI said, ”No evidence attributing any criminality on his part or his involvement in the alleged offence has surfaced during the investigation.”
The chargesheet added, “Ghosh deliberately and with mala fide intention did not obtain comments of then member (finance) of DoT despite the issue involving huge financial implications. The wireless adviser, who was the custodian of the entire spectrum, was also intentionally bypassed.”