2G spectrum scam: CBI director appears before JPC

Central Bureau of Investigation Director A P Singh on Tuesday appeared before the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which is looking into the 2G spectrum case, to brief it on the allocation and pricing of telecom licences and spectrum during the period between 1998 and 2009.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee examining the 2G scam had sought to know from the CBI director details of the allocation of pricing of telecom licenses in this period.

At the last meeting of the JPC on June 30, Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai had also briefed the panel on the issue.

The CAG had then come in for some tough questioning on its presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer in 2G spectrum allocation with some members questioning its mandate of looking into a policy decision for arriving at the figure.

The CAG, in a report to Parliament last year, had pegged presumptive loss to the exchequer on 2G spectrum allocation at Rs 1.76 lakh crore. The findings triggered a political storm and subsequent events led to the resignation of the then telecom minister A Raja.

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal had dubbed "utterly erroneous and without any basis" the estimated loss of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore, arrived at by the CAG on account of 2G spectrum allocation.

According to the CBI charge sheet in the 2G spectrum allocation case, the loss to the exchequer is pegged at Rs 30,984 crore.