New Delhi: A special court Thursday decided to hear arguments next month on applications filed by two firms, chargesheeted by CBI in additional spectrum allocation case of 2002, questioning its jurisdiction to deal with the matter.
Accused firm M/s Hutchison Max (P) Ltd and M/s Sterling Cellular Ltd had filed separate pleas questioning the special court's jurisdiction to deal with the case.
During the hearing, senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, who appeared for one of the accused firms, submitted a rejoinder to the CBI's reply filed on the pleas questioning jurisdiction of the court to hear the case.
After the rejoinder was filed, special public prosecutor Anand Grover said he would go through it before advancing the arguments.
Both the prosecution and the defence counsels agreed to commence arguments on the issue on the next date, after which Special CBI Judge O P Saini fixed the matter for May 11.
The court said it would also hear the bail plea of former Telecom Secretary Shyamal Ghosh, an accused in the case, and arguments on charges on the next date of hearing.
CBI has chargesheeted Shyamal Ghosh and three telecom firms -- Hutchison Max, Sterling Cellular and Bharti Cellular Ltd -- as accused in the case relating to the Department of Telecommunications allocating additional spectrum which had allegedly resulted in a loss of Rs 846 crore to the exchequer.
The special court was earlier informed that Supreme Court had quashed the order summoning Bharti Cellular Ltd CMD Sunil Bharti Mittal and Essar Group promoter Ravi Ruia as accused in the case.
Hearing in the case was virtually stalled since April 26, 2013 interim order of the apex court which had said that proceedings against Mittal and Ruia, who had challenged the summoning order, would remain "postponed" till further orders.
The apex court on January 9 this year had cleared the decks by setting aside the order summoning Mittal and Ruia, observing that the principle of 'alter ego' has been wrongly applied by the trial judge in seeking presence of Mittal and Ruia as accused.
Besides Mittal, Ruia and Shyamal Ghosh, the special court had also summoned Canada-based NRI Asim Ghosh, who was then a managing director of Hutchison Max Pvt Ltd, as accused.
Mittal, Ruia and Asim Ghosh were not named as accused in the CBI chargesheet filed on December 21, 2012.
In the 57-page charge sheet, CBI has booked Shyamal Ghosh and the three firms for the offences of criminal conspiracy (120-B) of the IPC and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
