SC verdict on telecom scam petition not a set back: Narayanswamy

New Delhi, Jan 31 (ANI): Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), V Narayanasamy, on Tuesday said the Supreme Court verdict in the telecom scam petition case was not a set back to the government.

Narayanasamy said the government would give detail comment after reading the verdict.

"After going through the entire judgment we will be able to give our comments on that - the official comment we will give. But before that I would like to say that the Supreme Court has also said that Parliament has to frame the guidelines on that. Already the Lokpal bill is there. In any other area if something has to be done, we will go by what the Supreme Court says. No, it not a set back to the government," Narayanasamy told reporters in New Delhi.

The Minister also added that sanction for prosecution of the public servants had been done away in the Lokpal Bill.

"In Lokpal Bill, we have already done that no sanction for prosecution is required against a government servant whenever any petition is filed before the Lokpal and Lokayukta by any individual. That issue has already being settled by us to a certain extent," added Narayanasamy.

Accepting the petitioner Subramanian Swamy's argument, the court said that filing of a complaint under the Prevention of Corruption Act is a constitutional right of an Indian citizen and the competent authority must give sanction for prosecution within a time frame.

The court further added if the sanction was not given within four months then it was deemed to be granted to the prosecutor, however, court asked Parliament to further frame the rules.

Swamy had alleged that the Prime Minister's Office had delayed him sanction to file cases against then Telecom Minister Andimuthu Raja, a suspect in the multi-billion telecom scam.

Raja was forced to resign in 2010 and was sent to jail after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) faulted him for undervaluing spectrum to favour companies who were largely ineligible for 2G spectrum.

Swamy has also submitted documents, dating back to April 21, 2008, claiming that Home Minister, P Chidambaram, had met Raja to discuss the prices of the 2G Spectrum and thus was a party to the scam.

The telecom scam, one of India's biggest graft cases ever, may have cost 39.57 billion dollars in revenue to the public exchequer as per the country's apex auditing body, the CAG. (ANI)