The SC had ordered a CBI probe six months ago into possible illegalities indicated in former corporate lobbyist Radia's tapped conversations with politicians, industrialists and journalists. The October 17 order by a bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi (since retired) had the potential of the probe agency looking at some high-value deals linked to big corporate houses headed by Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani and the Tatas.
On Tuesday, a bench of Justices H L Dattu, J S Khehar and R K Agrawal said the right to privacy issue raised by Ratan Tata, erstwhile chairman of Tata group, was more important and it would like to conclude hearing on the petition. It framed three issues on right to privacy and posted it for hearing in August.
The three issues are: "citizen's right to privacy vis-a-vis government, right to privacy vis-a-vis media and right to know information". "Other issues regarding criminality and illegality in various contracts which have come out in recorded conversations of one person with others will be taken up for hearing after completion of hearing on the three issues framed above," the bench said.
Tata had petitioned the apex court in 2010 in the wake of excerpts of Radia's intercepted conversations appearing in sections of the media and had sought protection of his right to privacy.
In its October 17 order, the court had described eight deals involving corporate biggies and others as "prima facie indicative of deep rooted malaise in the system of which advantage has been taken by private enterprises in collaboration/connivance with government officers and others".
The deals were among 17 issues identified by a special team set up by the apex court in February last year to scan tapes for possible instances of criminality. These are, of course, not proven instances of collusion or corruption. It is that the court had prima-facie found sufficient reason for a more detailed probe into these deals. These deals are:
* Supply of low-floor buses by Tata Motors to Tamil Nadu government under the Centre's JNNURM scheme
* Appointment of Pradip Baijal, ex-chairman of Trai, as chairman of Pipeline Advisory Committee
* Allotment of coal blocks to Anil Ambani group's Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project
* Allotment of iron ore mines at Ankua, Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, to Tata Steel
* Favours shown by V K Sibal, then director general of hydrocarbons to RIL and quid pro quo received
* Fudging of subscribers base/record by Reliance Communications, an ADAG company, and submission of the same to Bombay Stock Exchange and Trai to save money
* Working of touts and middlemen and kickbacks in the aviation sector
* Market manipulation and hammering of stocks of Unitech.
"The conversations between Ms Niira Radia and her associates with various persons suggest that unscrupulous elements have used corrupt means to secure favours from government officers, who appear to have acted for extraneous considerations," the court had said and set a 60-day deadline for CBI to look into the controversial deals.
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