Chidambaram gets clean chit, as SC rejects swamy’s allegations

NEW DELHI: Finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday emerged unblemished from the 2G spectrum scam as the Supreme Court rejected all allegations against him, putting an end to protracted litigation to embroil him in the mega corruption saga of 2008.
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, who had filed one of the petitions against Chidambaram, said that he will seek a review of the SC verdict. “I did not talk about conspiracy. I spoke about loss to the nation,” said Swamy.

The apex court bench of Justices G SSinghvi and S K Radhakrishnan said the material made available by the petitioners did not support the allegations. Swamy had moved the SC challenging a February 4 order by a trial court that had rejected his plea to make Chidambaram a co-accused in the 2G scam case.

He had also demanded a CBI probe against Chidambaram alleging that the 2G licences were issued when Chidambaram was the finance minister in 2008. Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Radhakrishnan said, “On the basis of the material placed on record, no prima facie case was made out against Chidambaram for allegedly entering into a conspiracy with A Raja for allocating 2G licences in 2008 at 2001 prices.”

The court also said that a mere meeting between Chidambaram and Raja could not be seen as a conspiracy. “There is nothing to show that Chidambaram abused his position to favour anybody,” the SC bench said. Rejecting the pleas filed by Swamy and NGO Centre for Public Interest and Litigation (CPIL), the court said no wrong has been proved against the finance minister.