Radia tapes tampered: Centre tells SC
In a significant
disclosure, the Union govt told the Supreme Court that the Radia tapes
broadcast by media organisations were tampered with and the government
agencies were not responsible for its leakage.
Placing
a confidential report in a sealed envelope before a bench headed by
Justice G S Singhvi on Tuesday, the government said there were eight to
ten agencies, including service providers, involved in the tapping of
telephonic conversation of former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia.
The
bench went through a few initial pages of the report which stated there
was tampering with the conversations which were released by media.
The
report says the starting and the end point of the conversation do not
match with the original tapes, Justice Singhvi said referring to the
report.
He said the report also says that officers, who had conducted the probe, do not know who has leaked it.
"It is quite possible that someone else has done it," the bench said on Tuesday.
Earlier
in 2010, the government, while maintaining that the issues raised by
Tata group chief Ratan Tata in his petition relating to the Radia tapes
leak required probe, had turned down his plea for taking steps to stop
publication of the leaked transcripts in the media.
In
February 2011, the government had submitted to the apex court a copy of
a complaint on basis of which it had began tapping Radia's telephonic
conversations with several people including politicians, corporate
leaders and media persons.
The complaint was given to the court in compliance with its 13th
December 2010 order, passed on Tata's plea for a probe into the leakage
of tapes containing his private conversation with Radia and for
stopping further publication of its contents.
The
government had told the court that it had begun tapping Radia's
telephone on a complaint alleging that she was indulging in
anti-national activities and was acting as spy of foreign intelligence
agencies.
It
had maintained that conversations were recorded as part of the
surveillance ordered by the Directorate General of Income Tax
(Investigation) following a complaint received by the Finance Minister
on 16th November 2007 alleging that Radia had within a short span of nine years built up a business empire worth Rs 300 crore.
The government had given details of as to how 180 days of Radia's conversations were recorded -- first from 20th August 2008 onwards for 60 days and then from 19th October for another 60 days.
Later on 11th May 2009, her phone was put on surveillance for yet another 60 days, following a fresh order given on 8th May. (DD-31.1)
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