Following is the chronology of events in the 2G scam
case in which the Supreme Court on 2nd February’2012 cancelled 122 licenses
granted during the tenure of A Raja as telecom minister:
May 2007: Raja takes over as Telecom
Minister.
August 2007: Process of allotment of 2G Spectrum for telecom
along with Universal Access Service Licences
initiated by the Department of Telecommunications.
September 25, 2007:Telecom Ministry issues press note fixing
deadline for application as October 1, 2007.
October 1, 2007: DoT receives 575
applications for UAS licences of 46 companies.
November 2, 2007: PM writes to Raja directing him to
ensure allotment of 2G spectrum in a fair and transparent manner and to ensure licence fee was properly revised. Raja writes back to PM
rejecting many of his recommendations.
November 22, 2007: Finance Ministry writes to DoT raising concerns over the procedure adopted by it.
Demand for review rejected.
January 10, 2008: DoT
decides to issue licences on first-come-first served
basis, preponing the cut-off date to September 25,
from October 1, 2007.
Later on the same day, DoT posted
an announcement on its website saying those who apply between 3.30pm and 4.30pm
would be issued licences in accordance with the said
policy.
2008: Swan Telecom, Unitech and Tata Teleservices sell off a part
of their stakes at much higher rates to Etisalat, Telenor and Docomo respectively.
November 29, 2008: Subramanian Swamy makes
representation to the PM, seeks sanction to prosecute Raja under the Prevention
of Corruption Act. NGO Telecom Watchdog files complaint to CVC on illegalities
in spectrum allocation to Loop Telecom.
2009: CVC directs CBI to probe
allocation of 2G spectrum.
July 1, 2009: Delhi HC holds advancing of cut-off date as illegal on a
petition of telecom company S-Tel.
October 21, 2009: CBI lodges FIR against unknown
persons including DoT officials under the IPC and the
Prevention of Corruption Act.
October 22, 2009: CBI raids DoT
offices.
November 16, 2009: CBI seeks details of tapped conversation
of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia
to find out involvement of middlemen in grant of spectrum to telecom companies.
Mar 31, 2010: CAG reports large scale irregularities.
May 6, 2010: Telephonic conversation between Raja and Radia made public.
May, 2010: NGO Centre for Public Interest litigation moves Delhi HC
seeking probe into scam either by SIT or CBI.
May 25, 2010: Delhi HC dismisses the petition.
August 2010: The NGO moves SC against HC's verdict.
August 18, 2010: Delhi HC refuses to direct PM to decide on Swamy's complaint seeking sanction to prosecute Raja for
his involvement in 2G scam.
September 13, 2010: SC asks Centre, Raja to reply in
10 days to three petitions of CPIL and others on allegation there was a Rs 70,000 crore
scam.
October 8, 2010: SC asks government to respond to CAG report about
the scam.
October 21, 2010: Draft reports of CAG placed before
SC.
October 29, 2010: SC pulls up CBI for tardy probe in
the scam.
November 10, 2010: CAG report says the scam caused a
loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to exchequer.
November 11, 2010: DoT
files affidavit in SC saying CAG did not have authority to question policy
decision on 2G licenses.
November 14, 2010: Raja resigns as Telecom Minister.
November 20, 2010: PM files affidavit in SC.
November 22, 2010: CBI tells SC that it will file
charge sheet in the case within three months.
November 22, 2010: CBI tells SC that it will also
examine the role of Radia.
November 30, 2010: SC questions CVC P J Thomas's
moral right to supervise CBI's probe into 2G spectrum scam as he himself was
Telecom Secretary at that point of time.
December 1, 2010: SC seeks original tapes on
conversation between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and others.
December 2, 2010: Government places recorded tapes
in the SC.
December 8, 2010: SC favours probe into spectrum
allocation since 2001.
December 8, 2010: SC orders setting up of a special
court to try 2G spectrum scam case.
December 8, 2010: ED submits report. Says money trail covers 10 countries,
including
January , 2011: SC notice to Centre on the plea
seeking cancellation of 2G licenses. It also seeks responses from 11 firms for
not fulfilling roll-out obligations.
February 2, 2011: Raja, former Telecom Secretary Siddartha Behura and Raja's
former Personal Secretary R K Chandolia arrested.
February 8, 2011: Shahid Usman
Balwa, promoter of Swan Telecom, arrested.
February 10, 2011: SC asks CBI to probe corporate
houses, alleged beneficiaries of the 2G scam.
March 1, 2011: CBI tells SC that 63 persons were under its
scanner.
April 25, 2011: CBI files second charge sheet and Kanimozhi, Sharad Kumar and Karim Morani summoned.
May 20, 2011: Court rejects bail pleas of Kanimozhi
and others and orders their arrest.
July 25, 2011: Arguments on charge framing begins. Raja seeks to
make PM and P Chidambaram as witnesses.
September 22, 2011: CBI defends Chidambaram in SC,
blames DoT.
October 22, 2011: Special court frames charges
against Raja and 16 others in the 2 G case.
November, 2011: Barring Raja and Behura,
12 others get bail.
December 12, 2011: CBI files third charge sheet. Names Essar promoters Anshuman,
Ravi Ruia, Essar Group director (Strategy and Planning) Vikas Saraf, Loop Telecom
promoters Kiran
Khaitan and husband I P Khaitan
as accused.
Three companies - Loop Telecom Pvt
Ltd, Loop Mobile India Ltd and Essar Tele Holding
also named as accused.
January 31, 2012: SC says filing complaint under the PC Act is a
constitutional right and the competent authority should take a decision on
giving the sanction within four months.
February 2, 2012: SC cancels 122 licences
granted during Raja's tenure. Directs auctioning of licences in 4 months.