Did not testify falsely against Raja: Witness

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Former telecom secretary D.S. Mathur on Tuesday told a special Delhi court hearing the 2G case that he did not depose falsely against former telecom minister A. Raja.

"It is wrong to suggest that I have deposed falsely against accused A. Raja," said Mathur before Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge O.P. Saini. He added that he was not under pressure to do so.

Testifying as a CBI witness, Muthur said that it was wrong to suggest that no meeting was held with the minister in October 2007 over the issue of telecom licences.

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He said that the auctioning the 2G mobile airwaves and operating licences was suggested at a meeting in October 2007 between the members of telecom commission and minister Raja.

"It is wrong to suggest that no note was put before the minister through me in consequence of that meeting," replied Mathur, while being cross-examined by Raja's counsel Sushil Kumar.

Mathur said: "I raised the issues of availability of spectrum for the new applicants only as the numbers of applications was very large."

He will be cross-examined Wednesday by counsel of accused and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura.

According to the government auditor, the 2G spectrum allocation case pertained to biased distribution of mobile airwaves and operating licences, in lieu of kickbacks to telecom firms that could have cost the treasury up to Rs.1.76 lakh crore in lost revenue.