NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday took exception to the 15-month “silence” of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy’s plea seeking sanction to initiate proceedings against then telecom minister A Raja over the 2G spectrum row.
The PM could have said the material on record was insufficient and declined the sanction, said Justices G S Singhvi and Asok Kumar Ganguly.
It was on November 29, 2008, that Swamy, an ex-MP, submitted an application to the PM, seeking permission to initiate proceedings against Raja under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The reply came only on March 19 this year, stating it was premature to decide on his application since the CBI was probing the matter. The court said three months to reply “may not be sufficient”, but 15 months was “too long a period”.
Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium said these three months commenced from the date the CBI completed probe; not from the date of application. The also court took exception to the language used in the PM’s reply letter.