CBI court verdict in 2G cases today

Special CBI judge OP Saini is scheduled to pronounce the judgments in separate cases lodged by the CBI and the ED in the infamous 2G scam which rocked the UPA government. The court, which is exclusively dealing with the cases arising out of the 2G spectrum scam, has directed all accused, including Raja, Kanimozhi and others to remain present before it for the verdict.

The trial in 2G spectrum scam started six years ago in 2011 after the court had framed charges against 17 accused in the CBI’s case for the offences which entails punishment ranging from six months in life imprisonment.

One of the cases in which judgment is likely to be delivered involves Essar Group promoters Ravi Kant Ruia and Anshuman Ruia, Loop Telecom promoters Kiran Khaitan, her husband IP Khaitan and Essar Group director (Strategy and Planning) Vikash Saraf as accused.

In the first case filed by the CBI, Raja and Kanimozhi are facing trial along with former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja’s erstwhile private secretary RK Chandolia, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra and three top executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) -- Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair. Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Kalaignar TV director Sharad Kumar and Bollywood producer Karim Morani are also accused in it.

Besides them, three telecom firms -- Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL), Reliance Telecom Ltd and Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd -- are also accused in the case. All the accused facing trial in these cases have denied the allegations levelled against them by the CBI and the ED.