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Reliance official stands firm: Sought 2G licences for Swan
The CBI on Monday got a headstart in the 2G case as its key witnesses AN Sethuraman, group president of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) stood by his statement in a city court saying that Reliance ADAG had submitted applications for fifteen circles for UAS licenses on behalf of Swan Telecom Private Limited (STPL).
Matters took an interesting turn in the 2G case with Sethuraman, the authorised signatory for STPL, saying that he was ‘following the instructions of Bhatt’ regarding filing of the applications for UAS licenses, shifting the spotlight to Anand Bhatt, one of the directors of STPL.
Sethuraman also told Special CBI Judge OP Saini, “I had submitted applications for 15 circles for UAS licences on behalf of Swan Telecom in March 2007.”
Sethuraman testified that he was on the payroll of Reliance ADAG but submitted the applications for UAS licenses in the capacity as an authorised signatory of Swan Telecom.
The court, while framing charges against all the accused, had said that Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL) was directly or indirectly, holding 100 per cent shares in STPL. Besides RTL, Group MD of RADAG Gautam Doshi, Group President Surendra Pipara and Senior vice president Hari Nair are facing trial in the case.
Sethuraman also raised doubts on the role of Anand Bhatt saying, “It is correct that before filing this application, I had received a call in my office from Anand Bhatt. I was told by Bhatt to file this application and I also received a letter where I was told to do the needful in this regard.”
Drawing further attention to the role of Bhatt in the signing of applications, Sethuraman said, “When I saw these applications, these were fully prepared and dated as March 2, 2007. Bhatt did not tell me about completing the formalities of agreement with any party. He simply told me about the formalities and asked me to go ahead and file the applications.” They withdrew the applications for Assam and North-East circle on March 6 on instructions from Bhatt, he added.
Sethuraman also told the court that it ‘appeared’ that Hari Nair, senior vice president of the firm and an accused in the case had certified documents accompanying applications for 15 circles for UAS licences on behalf of Swan Telecom. He identified the signatures of Nair who, in the capacity of Company Secretary of Swan Telecom, had allegedly signed its documents.
