Favours allegedly shown to top corporate houses like Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd, his brother Anil Ambani's ADAG group, Tatas, working of touts, kickbacks in aviation sector, manipulation of Unitech's stocks and illegal gratification paid to tax officers arising from Niira Radia's tapped conversations will be probed by the CBI, the Supreme Courthas said.

Holding that the tapped conversations suggests that "unscrupulous elements have used corrupt means to secure favours from government officers", the apex court directed the probe on various issues including "favours" shown by VK Sibal, the then director general of Directorate General of Hydrocarbon, to RIL and quid-pro-quo received.

It directed CBI probe into the allotment of coal blocks to Sasan Power Project, run by ADAG Group and allotment of iron ore mines at Ankua, in Singhbhum District of Jharkhand to Tata Steel.

A bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi asked the agency to investigate alleged criminal misconduct by public servants in respect of survey/raid conducted by Income Tax department, payment of illegal gratification to tax officials to get work done and conversations regarding allocation of spectrum.

Out of 23 issues which were framed by a apex court-appointed probe team on the analysis of the tapped conversations of Radia with bureaucrats, politicians, corporate tycoons and scribes, the apex court ordered CBI probe in 14 issues.

The court also directed the probe in working of touts and middlemen and kickbacks in aviation sector and appointment of Pradip Baijal, ex-chief of TRAI, as chairman of Pipeline Advisory Committee.

The agency will also probe market manipulation and hammering of stocks of Unitech and fudging in the subscribers base/record by ADAG Company and submission of the same toBombay Stock Exchange and TRAI to save the money.

Tata's role in supply of low-floor buses by Tata Motors to government of Tamil Nadu under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme of government of India will also be probed.(PTI)