New Delhi, Jul 22: Reliance ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani was today directed by a trial court to appear on July 26 in the 2G spectrum case hours after the Supreme Court decided to hear tomorrow Reliance Telecom Ltd's(RTL) plea against the order summoning him and his wife Tina Ambani as prosecution witnesses.
Contesting July 19 order of the Special CBI Court summoning Ambani couple to depose as CBI witnesses, RTL approached a bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam which agreed for urgent hearing on Wednesday but later preponed it for tomorrow on RTL's plea.
RTL, one of the three companies, accused in the case has challenged the order of Special CBI judge O P Saini, who made ADAG Chairman and his wife prosecution witnesses on CBI's plea that their testimony would throw light on ADAG's companies alleged investment of over Rs 990 crore relating to 2G spectrum in Swan Telecom.
Notwithstanding the apex court's decision to hear RTL's plea, the trial court issued summons to Anil Ambani to appear before it on Friday.
Earlier in the day, the apex court bench, also comprising justices J Chelameswar and Vikramajit Sen, said RTL's petition challenging the July 19 order of the trial court would be heard by an “appropriate bench” dealing with the 2G matter.
RTL moved the Supreme Court against the trial court's order as the apex court bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi had earlier restrained all other courts, including high court, from entertaining any plea arising out of the 2G scam case.
The trial court had on July 19 allowed CBI's plea that the testimony of Anil and Tina Ambani may throw light on alleged investment of over Rs 990 crore by his group companies in Swan Telecom, facing trial in the case along with its promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka. It had said CBI's plea to summon Anil Ambani, Tina and 11 others as prosecution witnesses was essential for arriving at a just decision in the case.
