Fresh summons were issued by the special court hearing the 2G spectrum scam case on Friday to Essar Group promoters Ravikant and Anshuman Ruia and Loop Telecom promoters Kiran and I. P. Khaitan after they failed to appear in court in response to earlier summons.
The Ruias and Khaitans, along Essar Group Director of Strategy and Planning Vikash Saraf (fifth accused), who sought exemption from personal appearance on Friday through his lawyer, were ordered to before the court on February 22, when the case is listed for hearing.
However, authorised representatives of Loop Telecom, Loop Mobile India, and Essar Teleholdings appeared in the court.
Counsel for Saraf and the three companies submitted that service of summons by affixation on the wall outside the addresses provided to the CBI by the Ruias and Khaitans was not as per law.
At this, Special Judge O. P. Saini said: “I do not find anything wrong with the service by affixation. However, considering the fact that all the four accused were stated by their employees to be in Dubai, I deem it proper that before issuing any coercive process against these four accused, one more attempt be made to made to effect personal service or in the alternative, service by affixation.”
The judge also advised the CBI to inform the accused through phone calls and SMS on the mobile numbers they had provided during interrogation.
Loop Telecom and Essar Teleholdings moved applications, praying that proceedings in the case be adjourned till disposal of a petition pending in the Delhi High Court that contested the jurisdiction of Mr. Saini to hear this case in which the charges attracted are Section 420 (cheating) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy).
The petitioners' contention was that the case is triable by a metropolitan magistrate and by having a special judge try the case, the accused were losing one level in the appellate process, which was, therefore, doing prejudice to them.
At this stage, Special Public Prosecutor U. U. Lalit intervened to point out to Mr. Saini that the petitioners did not get the relief they were seeking from the High Court when it was pointed to the High Court Bench that the Supreme Court in one of its orders had said Mr. Saini's court would hear all matters related to the 2G spectrum scam and that no other court would stay proceedings in the case.
The Delhi High Court is slated to hear the petition on February 16. ‘
