New Delhi: A Delhi court Wednesday termed as "deemed proper" the service of summonses via SMSes, e-mails and affixation by the CBI to Essar Group promoters Anshuman and Ravi Ruia and Loop Telecom promoters I P Khaitan and Kiran Khaitan in an offshoot case of the 2G spectrum scam.
"It is submitted by the special public prosecutor (U U Lalit) that the service may be deemed proper, though Mukul Rohatgi, senior advocate (appearing for Ruias), submits that the four accused have not been served properly. In view of the material on record, service deemed proper," Special CBI Judge O P Saini said.
Seeking exemption from personal appearance for Ruias, Rohatgi said he was appearing despite the fact that his clients, presently in UAE, have not been "properly" served with the court summonses.
The court, which granted exemption from appearance to Ruias and Khaitans, said though the summonses were not served personally on them but "the process was done by affixing summonses on their addresses and through SMSs and e-mails."
While granting reliefs, it considered the fact that the CBI did not object to the pleas.
The court asked the counsel for the accused to remain present during the judicial proceedings.
Fifth accused Vikash Saraf, Essar Group director (Strategy and Planning) appeared in the court and moved his bail application which would be heard on March 17 after the CBI files its response to the plea.
Special Judge Saini asked all accused "to be present in person on the next date of hearing" on march 17 and also listed the case "for scrutiny of documents on the same date."
The CBI, meanwhile, provided copies of the chargesheet along with relevant documents to the accused who appeared.
Saraf and three telecom firms -- Loop Telecom Ltd, Loop Mobile India Ltd and Essar Teleholdings -- were supplied with the documents on the last date of hearing.
The court today also directed the CBI to supply documents to all the accused in "e-forms in pen drives" after some of them complained that the CDs, provided earlier to them, were posing technical glitches.
"IO/Technical Officer (of CBI) is directed to help the accused in removal of difficulty in opening the CDs and searching the documents, if any......Documents be also supplied in pen drives as prayed by the advocates for the accused," the judge said.
Essar, which has denied any involvement in the 2G case, had approached the Supreme Court challenging the jurisdiction of the special CBI court in hearing their case in the absence of corruption charge against them.
The telecom firms had said they have been chargesheeted under section 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and the charges were triable by a magistrate and not by the special court constituted under the Prevention of Corruption Act for hearing the 2G case.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 21:08