New Delhi: CBI on Tuesday opposed in a special court the issue of jurisdiction raised by two telecom firms, chargesheeted in additional spectrum allocation case of 2002, saying the case fell under the ambit of 2G spectrum scam which clear from the orders of the Supreme Court.
Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover told Special CBI Judge O P Saini that the apex court's order coupled with the notification of High Court made it clear that the case related to 2G spectrum.
"The Supreme Court orders coupled with the notification makes it clear what the ambit is. It is clear from the reading of the two Supreme Court orders and a series of orders that it is a 2G spectrum case," he said, adding that the case was being monitored by the Supreme Court.
Observing that the additional spectrum case was not restricted to licenses only, Grover said "there is no doubt that this case relates to spectrum allocation and this court has jurisdiction under section 322 of CrPC and their application should be dismissed."
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, who appeared for accused firms M/s Hutchison Max(P) Ltd and M/s Sterling Cellular Ltd, said they never got license in the period from 2001 to 2008, which is under probe by CBI on apex court's direction and were already an existing licensee.
"We are a licensee since 1994 and the facts of the 2G case are irrelevant in our case. This is not a case pertaining to 2G spectrum case," he said.
The arguments on the plea today remained inconclusive and would continue on July 6.
Earlier, the two accused firms had said that the case did not relate to the 2G spectrum scam and hence should be heard by another court.
Former Telecom Secretary Shyamal Ghosh and three telecom firms -- M/s Hutchison Max (P) Ltd, M/s Sterling Cellular Ltd and Bharti Cellular Ltd -- were chargesheeted by the CBI in the case relating to Department of Telecommunications (DoT) allocating additional spectrum which had allegedly resulted in a loss of Rs 846 crore to the exchequer.
The special court was earlier informed that the Supreme Court had quashed the order summoning Bharti Cellular Ltd CMD Sunil Bharti Mittal and Essar Group promoter Ravi Ruia as accused in the case.
The apex court had on January 9 this year set aside the order summoning Mittal and Ruia, observing that the principle of 'alter ego' has been wrongly applied by the trial judge in seeking the presence of Mittal and Ruia as accused.
Besides Mittal, Ruia and Shyamal Ghosh, the special court had also summoned Canada-based NRI Asim Ghosh, who was then a Managing Director of Hutchison Max Pvt Ltd, as an accused.
Mittal, Ruia and Asim Ghosh were not named as accused in the CBI charge sheet filed on December 21, 2012.
In the 57-page charge sheet, CBI has booked Shyamal Ghosh and the three firms for the offences of criminal conspiracy (120-B) of IPC and under Prevention of Corruption Act.
