Letter between PM, Raja not processed by DoT: Witness

A key prosecution witness in the 2G spectrum case on Wednesday told a Delhi court that former Telecom Minister A Raja had communicated to the prime minister about the policy for distribution of licences 'at his level' and the issues involved in it were 'not processed' in the DoT files.

Prosecution witness A K Srivastava, who had retired as the deputy director general (DDG) (Access Services) from the Department of Telecom (DoT), testified that on January 7, 2008, Raja had asked him to 'adopt' the December 26, 2007 communication sent to the prime minister as DoT's policy.

"The communication dated December 26, 2007 was sent by Raja, the then MOC&IT to the prime minister at his level. The issues involved were neither examined nor processed in the DoT files," Srivastava told Special Central Bureau of Investigation Judge O P Saini.

"The decision making power of the Union minister is beyond me to question. Therefore, as per the instructions given to me in the meeting, held in the chamber of Raja on January 7, 2008 where I was asked to adopt the communication and the communication constituted the policy of the department as communicated to the PM vide letter dated December 26, 2007, I complied with the instructions," he said.

Raja, in a December 26, 2007 letter to the prime minister, had given details about the procedures to be adopted for the distribution of Letter of Intents (LoIs) to the companies and the first-come-first-served policy.

Srivastava, whose recording of statement would continue on Thursday, said on January 10, 2008, he was handed over a copy of an amended press release by the then Telecom Secretary Sidharath Behura, co-accused in the case, and he found that there was an "alteration" in it in the FCFS policy.

"I found in the press release, as prepared by Sidharath Behura and approved by the Minister (Raja), that an alteration in first-come first-served policy had occurred," he said.