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12-22-2017, 11:50 AM
NEW DELHI: India?s former telecoms minister was cleared on Thursday of his alleged role in a multi-billion dollar rort that ballooned into one of the country?s biggest-ever political scandals.
A special court in New Delhi acquitted A. Raja of corruption and also dropped charges against a slew of other bureaucrats and corporate executives implicated in the 2008 scandal that cost the state billions in lost revenue.
Judge O. P. Saini said India?s federal investigators, who brought the explosive charges against the high-profile defendants, could not prove allegations of criminality. ?I have absolutely no hesitation in holding that (the) prosecution has miserably failed to prove any charge against any accused,? Saini told a packed courtroom.
Raja, who appeared in court alongside the other accused, smiled after the verdict as his supporters let off firecrackers outside. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which prosecuted the case, said it would read the full judgement before considering any further action.
The so-called ?2G spectrum scam? came to light in 2010 when a government auditor estimated it cost treasury as much as $39 billion in lost revenues -- equal to India?s defence budget. India?s then-ruling Congress party was accused of under-pricing licenses and favouring certain firms during the tender process, seriously damaging the administration of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
In 2012, India?s top court cancelled 122 licenses for eight firms amid allegations of bribery and wholesale fraud. Time Magazine in 2011 included the scam on a list of historic scandals alongside ?Watergate? that brought down US President Richard Nixon in 1974.Analysts say the fallout weakened the Congress party and contributed to its heavy defeat at the 2014 general elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won that poll in a landslide, campaigning in part on a pledge to clean up corruption.
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A special court in New Delhi acquitted A. Raja of corruption and also dropped charges against a slew of other bureaucrats and corporate executives implicated in the 2008 scandal that cost the state billions in lost revenue.
Judge O. P. Saini said India?s federal investigators, who brought the explosive charges against the high-profile defendants, could not prove allegations of criminality. ?I have absolutely no hesitation in holding that (the) prosecution has miserably failed to prove any charge against any accused,? Saini told a packed courtroom.
Raja, who appeared in court alongside the other accused, smiled after the verdict as his supporters let off firecrackers outside. The Central Bureau of Investigation, which prosecuted the case, said it would read the full judgement before considering any further action.
The so-called ?2G spectrum scam? came to light in 2010 when a government auditor estimated it cost treasury as much as $39 billion in lost revenues -- equal to India?s defence budget. India?s then-ruling Congress party was accused of under-pricing licenses and favouring certain firms during the tender process, seriously damaging the administration of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
In 2012, India?s top court cancelled 122 licenses for eight firms amid allegations of bribery and wholesale fraud. Time Magazine in 2011 included the scam on a list of historic scandals alongside ?Watergate? that brought down US President Richard Nixon in 1974.Analysts say the fallout weakened the Congress party and contributed to its heavy defeat at the 2014 general elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won that poll in a landslide, campaigning in part on a pledge to clean up corruption.
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