NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it would run a random check on Radia tapes to look for any instance of suspected criminality which needed to be probed by the CBI.
A bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhaya said that they would pass the order on January 22 — a timeframe during which it would randomly pick up two-three of the several 48 envelopes containing the transcript of 5,831 calls made from and to the phones of Niira Radia, an influential corporate lobbyist.
The tapes — a cache of colourful elite chatter including conversations among corporate lobbyists and politicians and others — were recorded by the Income Tax department between August, 2008, and July, 2009, causing sensation when they mysteriously surfaced, with many citing the contents as illustrating the growing corporate influence on policymaking.
"We will decide this after opening two or three envelops whether further investigations were needed and indicate the areas in which the probe must focus on. We won't look into innocuous conversation," the bench said indicating that private conversations would not figure in the scrutiny process.
After excerpts of Radia tapes had surfaced in public domain on being published by a section of media, industrialist Ratan Tata moved the court in November, 2010, seeking ban on further publications and demanding protection of his right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Of the intercepted 5,831 telephonic conversation, the CBI while investigating into the irregular allotment of 2G spectrum during A Raja's tenure as telecom minister, had looked into some of them and had told the court that no criminality was found in those conversation. But, on September 6, 2012, the court had asked the I-T department to transcribe each and every intercepted telephone call.
Additional solicitor general Amarjit Singh Chandiok submitted the transcript of the entire Radia tape running into 48 volumes, of which 10 were submitted earlier.
The bench said, "After going through the contents of two or three of the envelopes, if we find criminality in the conversations, we will direct the CBI to probe further. Contents of one or two envelopes will primarily indicate the nature of the conversations and the further action needed."
The bench fixed January 22 for passing further orders even as additional solicitor general Harin Raval volunteered to constitute a team of CBI officers to scrutinize the contents of entire Radia tape conversation transcripts contained in 48 envelopes.
NGO Centre for public Interest Litigation through counsel Prashant Bhushan requested the court to appoint an independent team or amicus curiae to examine the transcripts and determine which conversations reflected criminal conspiracy to either defraud the country or commit an economic offence.
The case lies at the intersection of the dueling considerations of nation's security and citizen's right to privacy. The income tax department had intercepted Radia telephones after the finance ministry received a complaint against her. The department got the home ministry's permission to intercept her telephones for 120 days beginning August 20, 2008. It secured a fresh nod in May 2009 for an identical period.
Of the 5,831 call intercepts detailed in the Radia tapes, which were handed over by the I-T department to CBI on November 26, 2009, for a detailed investigation into the 2G spectrum scam, many were of a private nature.
A joint affidavit filed by the ministries of home and finance and I-T department in the apex court had said, "A complaint was received by the finance minister in 2007, alleging that Radia had built up an empire of Rs 300 crore and that she was an agent of foreign intelligence agencies indulging in anti-national activities." On this complaint, it was directed that the matter be examined, they had said.
SC to examine Radia tapes for criminality
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SC to examine Radia tapes for criminality
