Swan Telecom was just a mask for Reliance Telecom: court

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG)-led Reliance Telecom Ltd (RTL) was today put on trial in 2G spectrum allocation scam case by a Delhi court which said Shahid Balwa-promoted Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL) was "just a mask" for RTL.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini dismissed the contention of RTL that Swan Telecom was not its "associate" saying it was, directly or indirectly, holding 100 per cent shares in STPL.

"Its (STPL) source of fund was RCL/RTL (Reliance Communication Ltd/ Reliance Telecom Ltd). Directly or indirectly it was holding 100 per cent shares of STPL as on the date of application.

"The source of funding of STPL was RCL/RTL...As such, STPL was not only an 'associate' but a front, or a facade, for RCL/RTL. In a sense, STPL was RCL/RTL itself and STPL was just a mask for it," the judge said.

The court also said RTL, which was already having CDMA licence, in order to obtain GSM licence in 13 circles, created a "web of companies" in order to conceal the identity of STPL. "A bare reading of the allegations and the evidence would make it clear that RCL/RTL were already having CDMA licence and in order to obtain another licence in 13 circles, that is, GSM licence, a web of companies was created through a culture of subterfuge in order to conceal the real identity of the holding hands of STPL, the company which applied for 13 UAS (unified access services) licence on March 2, 2007," the judge said.

The court said Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair, top executives of RTL and accused in the 2G case, passed on the ineligible firm STPL to Shahid Balwa and Vinod Goenka of M/s DB Realty Ltd.

RTL and its executives have denied all allegations against it and have decided, according to the statement issued by the company, to challenge the framing of charges in the Delhi High Court. (PTI)