This Article is From Jun 23, 2016

Essar Phone Tap Case: Advocate Asks Court For Probe By Special Team

Essar Phone Tap Case: Advocate Asks Court For Probe By Special Team

The plea will be heard by the Delhi High Court soon. (File photo)

New Delhi: Supreme Court advocate Suren Uppal -- who approached the Prime Minister for a probe into the Essar phone tap scandal - has now appealed to the Delhi High Court for an investigation by a Special Investigation Team.

Mr Uppal said he has filed the petition on the basis of CDs of the recorded conversations, whose genuineness also he wants to be examined.

On basis of Mr Uppal's complaint, the home ministry has already ordered a probe. The government, however, is yet to decide on nature and scope of the inquiry.

Mr Uppal, however, alleged that despite his complaints filed with the Prime Minister's Office on June 1 and then again on June 9, till date, neither has any action been taken nor has he received any response.

In his plea, Mr Uppal also sought that Albasit Khan, who had first approached him regarding the issue and later turned hostile, should be produced before the court as he is a "material witness".

Mr Uppal's petition also said the court should direct the government to provide him security till the case was disposed of since there was a threat to his life.

Mr Uppal claimed to represent a former employee of Essar, Albasit Khan, who allegedly carried out the phone taps and provided him with the CDs of the taped conversations.

Essar had allegedly tapped the phones of several cabinet ministers, business chiefs Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani and many bureaucrats over five years since 2001, when the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then the UPA-1 led by the Congress, were in power.
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