Kapil Sibal welcomes Supreme Court monitoring of 2G probe

New Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court initiative in monitoring the ongoing 2G spectrum scam probe being conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and said people have more faith in the apex court.

He said a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe as demanded by the Opposition would have delayed the process. “It [JPC] was politically motivated,” he said.

He said he was happy that the scope of the probe was extended till 2001 (when the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was in power).

“I’m glad that now the investigations will take place from 2001,” he said.

He said the government was trying to expedite the process of the probe.

Stating that it was convinced of irregularities in granting of telecom licences, the Supreme Court during the day directed the CBI to extend its probe in the process of awarding telecom licences from 2001 and function without any influence.

It directed the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a status report on the investigations in a sealed envelope to the court on February 10, 2011.