The former Telecom Minister, A. Raja, on Tuesday was excused from being physically present in a court here on March 3 in connection with the proceedings related to the extension of his judicial remand.
Special Judge (Central Bureau of Investigation) O. P. Saini allowed Mr. Raja's application, moved through senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, seeking video-conferencing both at the Tihar Central Jail where he is lodged and at the Patiala House Courts.
Mr. Gupta requested the court to exercise its discretion in the matter as per Section 167(2) (B) of the Criminal Procedure Code, noting that it would save his client of “embarrassment.” In his application, Mr. Raja had also cited security.
CBI counsel did not oppose Mr. Raja's move but pointed out that video-conferencing was done when the distance between the court and the remand jail was huge, unlike in the present case.
The judicial remand period of Mr. Raja and other accused, including Shahid Usman Balwa, R. K. Chandolia and Siddhartha Behura, will get over on March 3.
Meanwhile, the CBI questioned the former Telecom Secretary and former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief Nripendra Misra as part of its investigation into the 2G spectrum scam.
