2G scam : Anil Ambani arrest plea deferred

The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred to July an application filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan against the CBI protecting and not arresting Reliance Telecom chairman Anil Ambani in the 2G spectrum scam.

The application moved by him on behalf of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) which brought the scam to the apex court asserted that the real beneficiary is Ambani but " CBI has tried to shield him and has only charge- sheeted his three executives." Bhushan had also sought to bring Essar's CEO Prashant Ruia and the Tatas within the ambit of the 2G scam probe in the application, alleging that the CBI is not catching " big fish" who are the real beneficiaries of the scam.

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly put off for July after vacation the application seeking a highpowered panel to supervise the CBI's probe, citing no arrests of the big honchos have been made in the scam.

In the last hearing, advocate Bhushan had asserted that RCom, which was ineligible for the 2G licence, had financed Swan Telecom and its chairman Anil Ambani, who has 50 per cent stake in the company, has not been touched by CBI despite being the real beneficiary.

He also alleged that investigations have gone cold on the alleged involvement of Prashant Ruia and Tatas in the scam.