CBI clears Ratan Tata of 2G scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday cleared Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata?s name in the 2G spectrum allocation scam and said his company Tata Telecom did not benefit from it.

“We’ve examined the issue in detail. There was no irregularity in the issuance of licenses to Tata Telecom,” said the CBI.

On Apr 4, Tata was quizzed by Indian Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in connection with the 2G scam.

Tata was questioned by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)?s Murli Manohar Joshi-led committee over the 2G allocation irregularities even though a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was formed to investigate the scam, besides the probe by the CBI.

In May 18, scam-accused DB Realty promoter Shahid Balwa?s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal had accused Ratan Tata of making a donation to a hospital in former Telecom Minister A Raja?s home state Tamil Nadu, which served as a kickback for Tata to get undue advantage during the allocation of telecoms spectrum and licenses in 2008.

Aggarwal also accused the CBI which is conducting one of the probes into the 2G spectrum scandal of going ?soft? on Tata and being biased towards companies like his client?s.

In court, Balwa?s lawyer Aggarwal accused the CBI of going after companies ?selectively? and backed his allegations against the salt-to-software Tata Group, which also runs Tata Teleservices, by producing letters allegedly indicating a compromise between A Raja and Ratan Tata.

One of the letters, dated Sep 10, 2009 from Raja to Tata reportedly read, ?It was requested that the cheque of the of the entire amount of Rs 20 crore may be made ‘as a special case’ as an upfront payment in the name of the hospital authority…I request you to please look into the matter personally to see that the entire amount of Rs. 20 crore is released to the Government of Tamil Nadu at the earliest…”

While another, dated Sep 15, 2009, reportedly showed Tata’s reply, explaining the delay in sending funds.

?I wish to inform you that we have never made a grant of this size to any external recipient in the Trust’s history…The grant to the Perambalur Hospital was given as a very special case, after considerable deliberation amongst the Trustees, which include independent persons,? the letter, allegedly written by Tata to Raja, said.

The Tata Group, however, denied the charges made by Aggarwal. Even though the hospital in Tamil Nadu approached them for a Rs 20 crore-grant, the huge amount was ultimately not released, they said.

?We are not aware of the contents of the letters produced in the court. It is a fact that Mr RN Tata was approached in 2008-2009 about a grant of Rs 20 crore from Tata Trusts for the Perambalur Medical College Hospital, but that grant was ultimately not given,? the Tata statement said.

?The Trust had received a grant request in July 2007 to support the cost of upgradation of the medical facilities in the Government Hospital in Perambalur together with some taluka hospitals. The grant of Rs. 8 crore was sanctioned against this request,? it added.

The statement further said, ?Of this sanctioned amount, only a sum of Rs 3.26 crore was released by the Trust and spent by the hospital, towards the cost of a CT Scan machine and allied medical equipment to augment its facilities to treat the rural poor.?

In 2008, during his term as the telecoms minister, A Raja purportedly gave away mobile airwaves at throwaway prices to companies including Balwa?s Swan Telecom causing a loss of up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer.