2G scam case: Reliance says court prejudiced

NEW DELHI: The accused in the 2G scam on Monday told the Supreme Court they were being prejudiced against during the trial as the trial court was giving numerous opportunities to the prosecution to fill the lacunae in their evidence.
Arguing for Reliance Telecommunications Ltd (RTL), senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told a bench of Justice GS Singhvi and Justice KS Radhakrishnan that while permitting the CBI to summon more witnesses, including Reliance ADAG chairman Anil Ambani and his wife Tina, the trial court had indirectly agreed there were lacunae in the evidence and that an additional opportunity was being given to the CBI to make it good.
Rohatgi said the grounds given by the CBI for summoning more witnesses was “mere subterfuge, camouflage to plug loopholes and an attempt to grope in the dark as if there was an investigation going on parallel to the trial”.
Though RTL’s arguments challenging the summoning of new witnesses remained inconclusive, accused Asif Balwa’s counsel Ram Jethmalani said the apex court’s earlier decision to appoint the public prosecutor followed by the order restricting the accused from approaching the high court against the trial court’s decisions were causing grave prejudice.
“Unwittingly, by the order appointing the public prosecutor, we are being denied a fair trial. Never in history has a public prosecutor been appointed by the Supreme Court. It is weighing heavily on the trial court. We are facing a public prosecutor who is treated like a demi-god. No one is hearing us and the trial court is granting whatever the public prosecutor is requesting. Please hear us and decide the matter,” he said.
The bench adjourned hearing in the matter till Thursday.