Indian investigators and the government have broadened their probes into the nation's spectrum scandal to cover licenses issued since 2001.
New telecom minister Kapil Sibal yesterday announced he will appoint a former Supreme Court judge to investigate all allocations since the 2001 2G allotment conducted by the then-governing BJP party, the Economic Timessaid.
The judge, Shivaraj Patil, will examine whether government procedures were consistent and transparent, and whether there were any deviations. He is expected to report on his findings in around four weeks.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also revealed it will take the Supreme Court's advice and extend its own probe into spectrum sales back to 2001.
Tata Group chairman Ratan has also called for a widening of the inquiry to 2001. The tycoon, one of India’s best-known businessman, has been engaged in a public spat with Rajeev Chandrasekhar, an independent MP connected to the BJP.
In a series of open letters, the pair traded barbs over the spectrum controversy. Tata alleged that many of the telecom ministry's alleged improprieties with the 2008 allocation were based on decisions made in 2001 under the BJP.
Chandrasekhar maintained that Tata's telecom companies had benefited from the government's allocation decisions by becoming a dual (GSM and CDMA) technology license holder, and that its defense of the process was motivated by this.
The BJP has been criticized for shifting to a revenue-sharing regime rather than an annual license fee, and making other regulatory changes that may have favored particular telecom companies, Telegraph Indiasaid.
The 2008 allocation of 2G spectrum used rates set in 2001, in a decision state auditors allege could have cost the government up to 1.76 trillion rupees ($38.4 billion). The BJP has been one of the most vocal critics of the decision.
Sibal's predecessor A Raja - who is accused of ignoring advice to conduct the allocation through an auction - was forced to resign last month, and the CBI raided his homes yesterday as part of the investigation.
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