The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) filed an affidavit in the apex court Saturday saying a letter written by former MP Subramanian Swamy to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in October 2009 acknowledged that he was aware of the steps being taken on his seeking sanction to prosecute then communications minister A. Raja in the 2G spectrum allocation.
This acknowledgment of the steps taken by the prime minister to look into the allegations on the 2G spectrum controversy would be focused on by the government when the matter comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court Tuesday, sources said.
This communication by Swamy to the Prime Minister would be used to say that Swamy held back from the court some vital information he had in his possession and did not reveal everything to the court, the sources noted.
The Prime Minister's Office sought the opinion of the law ministry in May 2009 on Swamy's application seeking prosecution of Mr Raja under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the affidavit says.
The law ministry replied in February 2010 that since the probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was on, the prime minister need not give any sanction. Having said so the affidavit notes there was no delay on the prime minister's part in replying to Swamy's application of Nov 20, 2008, seeking to prosecute Raja.
The affidavit gives the details of how every letter from Swamy was adequately dealt with.
The 10-page affidavit also gives details of the steps that the PMO took in pursuance of Swamy's communications. The affidavit, filed by a director in the PMO, was filed in accordance with the apex court direction Thursday.
An apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice A.K. Ganguly had Thursday directed the PMO to file the detailed affidavit after Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam told the court that each of Swamy's letters to the prime minister has been replied to and steps taken thereof.
Swamy has denied having received any communication from the Prime Minister's Office except for one that he received in March 2010. Swamy said that he had on Nov 20, 2008 written to the prime minister seeking permission to launch proceedings against Raja.