Ex-Trai chairman quizzed in 2G case

NEW DELHI: Former telecom minister A Raja’s counsel on Wednesday cross-examined ex-Trai chairman Nripendra Mishra, who was called as a prosecution witness in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case.
Mishra, who deposed before special CBI judge O P Saini, said Unified Access Services Licence (UASL) guidelines were issued by DoT on December 14, 2005, when Dayanidhi Maran was the minister of communication and information technology.
He, however, failed to recollect whether Maran was telecom minister in October 2006 in UPA-1 when he was asked about a letter written by the then telecom secretary D S Mathur to him as the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
“I have been shown a letter dated October 19, 2006, written by Mathur and addressed to me in the capacity of chairman, Trai. In this letter, he conveyed to me that section 11 of the Trai Act applies to a new category of licence. I am unable to recall at this point of time if Dayanidhi Maran was minister of communication and information technology at the time when this letter was written,” Misra said.
Maran was telecom minister from May 26, 2004 to May 13, 2007. His party colleague A Raja, who succeeded him, resigned on November 14, 2010 and was arrested by CBI on February 2, 2011, and has been in jail since then.
During the cross-examination by Raja's counsel, Misra said he had received another letter on July 2, 2008 from ex-telecom secretary Sidharth Behura, facing trial in the 2G case, where it was conveyed to him that the “Department of Telecom (DoT) had been seeking recommendations of Trai whenever a new category of licence was to be issued”.
Misra said Trai and DoT had some difference of opinion about section 11 of the Trai Act.
“Trai understood section 11 of Trai Act in its own way and DoT understood it in its own way. I cannot say if the view of DoT was based on legal advice sought by it. I am not aware if this difference of opinion about section 11 of Trai Act between DoT and Trai is still sub-judice.
“In this letter (of July 2, 2008), DoT has written that it has sought legal advice as advised by Trai. I cannot confirm or deny if the matter is still pending consideration in court,” Misra, whose recording of statement will continue on Thursday, said.
He said when DoT differs with the recommendations of Trai, second reference to the regulatory body is “mandatory”. He said that during his tenure as telecom secretary, 17 licences were issued and Trai recommendations of 2003 were available for grant of licences.