‘No criminality found’ in Niira Radia tapes, CBI tells Supreme Court

On Wednesday, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the Supreme Court that there was no criminality found following the investigation into intercepted conversations between the former lobbyist Niira Radia with several politicians, lawmakers, and industrialists. The probe was ordered back in 2013, by the country’s apex court as they believed that these conversations were indicative of “deep-rooted malice”.

The CBI was then asked to file a status report by the three-judge SC bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud and set the date for the next hearing on October 12. The CBI report was also submitted in response to a writ petition filed by industrialist Ratan Tata filed in 2011 who demanded a probe into how the conversations involving Radia got leaked and protested on the grounds of his privacy being violated which was threatened after the tapes leaked.

The Income Tax Department of India between 2008 to 2009 recorded thousands of conversations between Radia and politicians, lawyers, journalists and industrialists. Meanwhile the media reports at the time alleged that she was influencing the government and lawmakers’ portfolios during the United Progressive Alliance government, a grouping of centre-left political parties in India.

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During today’s hearing, solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the CBI said, “CBI was directed by your lordship to investigate all these conversations. 14 preliminary inquiries were registered and the report was placed before your lordships in a sealed cover.” She added, “No criminality was found in those. Also, now there are phone-tapping guidelines in place.” Bhati also went on inform the court that the report was submitted by the agency in 2015 but the matter was taken up by the court all these years.

On the other hand, the NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) pressed for a probe into the tapes and said they should be made public. Advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for the CPIL before the bench that also included Justices Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha said that Radia was a corporate lobbyist for two of the most important companies and attempted to influence lawmakers and other influential people, he said basing his argument on public interest.

In October 2013, the supreme court ordered the CBI to launch an investigation and examine 14 issues that were identified by the agency at the time. Reportedly, the agency investigated over 5,800 taped conversations between Radia and others as a part of an investigation into tax evasion. The government tapped Radia’s phone following a complaint to the alleged that within nine years she had managed to build a Rs. 300 crore business empire.

At the time while ordering a probe the apex court told the CBI, “The conversations are indicative of the deep-rooted malice by private enterprises in connivance with government officials and others for extraneous purposes.” The court reportedly also said that the people involved have gained from government officers and others, which suggests corruption between the government and private entities.

(With inputs from agencies)