2G case: Supreme Court accepts Swamy's plea against PMO

New Delhi, Jan 31 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy's petition against the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in the 2G case, saying that public officials must decide within three months on applications seeking permission to prosecute government authorities.

A special bench of Justices G. S. Singhvi and A. K. Ganguly said there should be a set time frame, and added that all matters of sanction should be decided within three months.

"If consultations are required, then another one month can be taken. If in four months the authority does not give sanction, then it shall be deemed that a sanction has been given," the bench said.

Swamy had moved the apex court in on November 24, 2010 alleging a delay by the PMO to give him sanction to file a case against former telecom minister A Raja, who is accused of being involved in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

Swamy's arguments were that he wrote to the PMO on November 29, 2008, but it was only on March 19, 2010 the PMO replied saying the plea made by Swamy was premature, as an investigation was being carried out by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The telecom scam, one of India's biggest graft cases ever, may have cost 39.57 billion dollars in axpected revenue to the public exchequer as per the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

A. Raja was sacked in November 2010 and later arrested for giving telecom licences away in 2008 for a pittance. (ANI)