The Supreme Court has asked the CBI to probe six key issues thrown up by the phone transcripts of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia.
Favours allegedly shown to top corporate houses such as Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, his brother Anil Ambani’s ADAG group, and the Tatas; working of touts; kickbacks in aviation sector; manipulation of Unitech stocks and illegal gratification paid to tax officers will be probed by the CBI, the Supreme Court has said.
An apex court-appointed probe team had flagged 23 issues after analysing the tapped conversations of Radia with bureaucrats, politicians, corporate tycoons and scribes.
Holding that the tapped conversations suggest that “unscrupulous elements have used corrupt means to secure favours from government officers,” the apex court directed the probe on various issues including “favours” allegedly shown by V. K. Sibal, then chief of the Directorate-General of Hydrocarbons, to Reliance Industries and quid pro quo received.
Coal blocks allotment
The apex court directed the CBI probe into the allotment of coal blocks to Sasan Power Project run by the Anil Ambani group and iron ore mines at Ankua in Singhbhum district of Jharkhand to Tata Steel.
A Bench headed by Justice G. S. Singhvi asked the agency to investigate alleged criminal misconduct by public servants in respect of survey/raid conducted by the Income Tax Department, payment of illegal gratification to tax officials to get work done and conversations on allocation of spectrum.
The apex court directed the CBI to probe the working of touts and middlemen and alleged kickbacks in the aviation sector and the appointment of Pradip Baijal, former chief of TRAI, as Chairman of the Pipeline Advisory Committee.
Unitech stocks
The agency will also probe market manipulation and hammering of stocks of Unitech and fudging of the subscriber base records by an Anil Ambani group company and submission of the same to the BSE and TRAI to save money. Tatas’ alleged role in the supply of low-floor buses by Tata Motors to the Government of Tamil Nadu under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme of the Centre will also be probed.