Jailed former communications minister A. Raja, an accused in the 2G case, Wednesday cross-examined prosecution witness and former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman Nripendra Mishra in a special court here.
Mishra told Central Bureau of Investigation Special Judge O.P. Saini that there were differences of understanding between the regulator and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) during Raja’s tenure.
“The TRAI understood Section 11 of TRAI Act (making of recommendations to DoT by the TRAI) in its own way and DoT in its own way,” said Mishra.
Mishra’s reply came after Raja’s counsel Sushil Kumar exhibited documents related to a letter written by co-accused and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura to him Aug 2, 2008 seeking recommendations of the TRAI while issuing new licences.
Mishra said last month that Behura had written a letter to him in January 2008, saying that the government’s action on the spectrum issue was “in accordance with the established policy”.
Mishra told court that the recommendation of the TRAI must be sought before issuance of new licences or modification of terms and conditions.
Sushil Kumar confronted Mishra with various documents, including letters exchanged between the TRAI and DoT regarding the recommendation of policy.
The CBI has alleged that Raja allotted the second generation (2G) radiowaves in an arbitrary manner and caused a huge loss to the exchequer.
Nineteen individuals and six companies are accused in the case. Except for Raja and Behura, all other arrested accused have been released on bail.
