2G case: Anil Ambani can't 'recall' minutes of meeting

Anil Ambani today told the Delhi Court that he does not "recall" the various board meetings of a company, said to be an associate of Reliance ADA Group, as the minutes were "not prepared" by him. "I attend a large number of meetings and I do not recall. I am going by the records only," he told Special CBI Judge OP Saini.

Mr Ambani today confirmed that his wife Tina Ambani will also appear as a witness tomorrow. Yesterday, after the Supreme Court said that Mr Ambani's petition would be considered only after it decided on two other petitions related to 2G cases, lawyers representing the industrialist rushed to the trial court to seek that his deposition be deferred. But the trial court, which had earlier postponed his examination, dismissed the plea.

Tina Ambani had earlier this week moved the trial court seeking exemption from personal appearance as a CBI witness tomorrow citing prior commitments.

Anil Ambani was to have deposed in court on July 26, but the court had allowed him exemption after he pleaded that he had "pre-scheduled" business engagements. The court had then issued fresh summons.

The CBI has contended that Mr Ambani can, as a prosecution witness, help explain the actions of three senior executives of his company - Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair - who were arrested in the 2G case and are now out on bail.

The Reliance Group has said in its petition that the 2G trial is almost complete and summoning Mr Ambani and his wife at this stage will serve no purpose.

The three officials, of the group's telecom arm Reliance Telecom Ltd, were arrested in 2011 for allegedly using another company, Swan Telecom, to get licences and frequency beyond their permissible quota.  The promoters of Swan - Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka - were also arrested in 2011 and were later granted bail.

The CBI wants Tina Ambani to be summoned as a prosecution witness because it says she presided over meetings where key decisions related to Swan Telecom were taken.

The CBI is investigating the scam that centres on whether mobile network licences and accompanying second-generation or 2G airwaves were given in sweetheart deals to ineligible companies in 2008 by A Raja, who was then Telecom Minister. According to estimates of government auditor CAG, this resulted in a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer. The government contests that assessment.

The Supreme Court had in February 2012 ordered the scrapping of 122 telecom licences issued to nine companies in 2008. The court also slapped fines on telcos and gave the government four months to decide fresh norms for issuing licences. In February 2011, Mr Raja, his aide RK Chandolia and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura were arrested. Mr Raja was granted bail by the Supreme Court after 15 months, in May 2012.