New Delhi: Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, facing trial along with 16 others in the 2G spectrum scam case, Tuesday sought urgent hearing from the Delhi High Court on his plea against an official note of the Ministry of Home Affairs which alleged his links with the underworld.
"The note of the MHA wrongly linked me to the underworld and it harmed my reputation and business. An urgent hearing is needed," the counsel for Balwa told Justice Sunil Gaur.
"What is the urgency? First get your name cleared in the 2G case and then come before this court," Justice Gaur said.
"This case is not at all connected with the 2G case and the hearing can go on as the MHA has issued a wrong official note in this case," the counsel for Balwa said.
Earlier, the MHA took a plea that the Supreme Court, which was then monitoring the probe in the 2G case, had restrained other courts from passing orders in any related matter, the counsel for Balwa said adding that now things are being clarified and this petition can be heard.
Justice Gaur then fixed the case for hearing on September 19 after it was informed that Additional Solicitor General A S Chandhiok, counsel for the MHA, was busy in other matter.
The MHA was earlier asked to reply to Balwa's plea the note, linking him to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, has harmed his business and reputation.
Balwa has sought withdrawal of the MHA note recommending Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to refuse permission to Etisalat to invest money in a Chennai-based firm.
The MHA, in the note, had cited as one of the four reasons that he shouldn't be associated with the company either as a director or in any other capacity as he has links with the underworld.
Balwa, who was arrested on February 7, last year in the 2G case, later resigned from the board of Etisalat.
He said the Anti-terror Squad of Mumbai police and the IB, after a thorough inquiry, have found nothing against him.
However, the MHA had claimed that they have sufficient inputs in this regard from the Maharashtra ATS and the IB.
MHA had objected to the proposal of UAE-based Etisalat to increase its stake in its Indian arm Etisalat DB, citing the Dubai company's presence in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The CBI and the IB alleged Dawood had invested large sums of money in Balwa's firm which was used by him to finance many of his business deals.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, May 01, 2012, 20:18