Raja not mother lode of conspiracy, didn't misled then PM: Court

Former telecom minister A Raja was not the 'mother lode of conspiracy' and he 'cannot be faulted' for misrepresention of facts to then prime minister Manmohan Singh, the special court said today, while acquitting the Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam leader in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

The court held that Raja's deposition matched with the official record and appeared to be cogent, truthful and acceptable.

It was a matter of great importance that he took a 'huge risk' in appearing as a defence witness, giving a good opportunity to the prosecution to 'grill him' in detail about the payment of alleged illegal gratification of Rs 200 crore, Special Judge O P Saini said in his verdict.

Saini, who 'religiously' heard the matter on a daily basis for nearly seven years, said the genesis of the case lAY not so much in the actions of Raja but in the action or inaction of others.

"There is no material on record to show that Raja was mother lode of conspiracy in the instant case. There is also no evidence of his no holds barred immersion in any wrongdoing, conspiracy or corruption," the court said.

The judge said it was clear that complete facts were not placed before the then prime minister by his own office for which Raja could not be faulted and senior officials at the PMO had 'suppressed the most relevant and controversial part' of Raja's letter.

The CBI had alleged that Raja had misled Singh in his letters on several key issues related to the policy of grant of 2G spectrum licences, including first-come-first-served and the cut-off date. -- PTI