Trial of the accused in the 2G spectrum case begun in a special Delhi court on Friday. Special CBI Judge O P Saini commenced the formal trial by recording the statement of prosecution witness Anand Subramaniam, assistant vice president of Reliance Capital Ltd.
Former telecom minister A Raja had earlier pleaded that he should be spared from cross examining prosecution witnesses till the CBI completes its probe but the court dismissed his plea on the ground that he is a prime accused in the scam.
About 150 prosecution witnesses will be cross examined in the trial that involves high-profile personalities like former telecom minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and other corporate big names.
The CBI had charge-sheeted 17 people in the 2G scam last month. The accused include A Raja, Kanimozhi, Sanjay Chandra of Unitech Wireless, Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom, Hari Nair, Gautam Doshi and Surendra Pipara of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group, Sharath Kumar of Kalaignar TV, Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables, and Bollywood producer Karim Morani.
