2G scam: Delhi HC orders respondents to plant 15,000 trees for seeking time to reply

New Delhi [India], Feb 7 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered the respondents in 2G spectrum case to plant as many as 15,000 trees in Delhi’s South Ridge forest area as a cost for delay in the filing of the reply.
The order, passed by Justice Najmi Waziri, directed two persons and three companies to plant trees after they failed to file their reply on probe agencies challenging their acquittal in the case. Each respondent will plant 3,000 trees.
The five respondents are Shahid Balwa, promoter of Swan Telecom Private Limited and Rajeev Agarwal, director of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Private Limited and three companies -- Dynamic Realty, DB Realty Limited and Nihar Constructions Private Limited.
The parties have been directed to approach the deputy conservator of forests on February 15 for allocation of land on which the plantation drive would take place.
The respondents have been ordered to ensure the upkeep and maintenance of the plants till the upcoming monsoon season. They have been further directed to provide photographs of their respective plantation drive.
The next date of hearing in the matter will now take place on March 26.
The verdict in the case was announced by a special court on December 21 last year, nearly seven years after the first arrest was made by the CBI in 2011.
The alleged scam relates to the granting of 2G spectrum licence allocations in 2007-08, which caused, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the public exchequer. (ANI)