2G case: Tina Ambani seeks exemption from personal appearance

A Delhi court had issued fresh summons on July 27 to Reliance ADA Group chairman Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani to appear as prosecution witnesses in the 2G spectrum allocation case. While Mr Ambani had been summoned on August 22, Mrs Ambani had been asked to appear before the court on August 23. The court issued the fresh summons to the couple after Mr Ambani, who was scheduled to depose before it on July 26, had sought exemption from personal appearance on the ground that he has "pre-scheduled" business engagements. The CBI had earlier distanced itself from the prosecution demand to call the Ambanis as witnesses. According to CBI sources, the demand was made by public prosecutor U.U. Lalit. The CBI had contended that Mr Ambani can, as a prosecution witness, help explain the actions of three senior executives of his company -- Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair -- who are on bail. The Reliance Group said in its petition that the 2G trial was almost complete and summoning Mr. Ambani and his wife at this stage would serve no purpose. The three officials, of the group's telecom arm Reliance Telecom Ltd, were arrested in 2011 for allegedly using another company, Swan Telecom, to get licences and frequency beyond their permissible quota. The CBI is investigating the scam that centres on whether mobile network licences and accompanying second-generation or 2G airwaves were given in sweetheart deals to ineligible companies in 2008 by A. Raja, who was then Telecom Minister. According to estimates of government auditor CAG, this resulted in a loss of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore for the exchequer. The government contests that assessment. The CBI wants Tina Ambani to be summoned as a prosecution witness because it says she presided over meetings where key decisions related to Swan Telecom were taken. The promoters of Swan - Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka - were also arrested in 2011 and were later granted bail. The Supreme Court had in February 2012 ordered the scrapping of 122 telecom licences issued to nine companies in 2008. The court also slapped fines on telcos and gave the government four months to decide fresh norms for issuing licences. In January and February 2011, the CBI raided homes of Mr. Raja, his aide R.K. Chandolia and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura. The three were arrested in February the same year. Mr. Raja was granted bail by the Supreme Court after 15 months, in May 2012.

2G case: Tina Ambani seeks exemption from personal appearance

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