The Supreme Court has permitted the Union Telecommunications Department Secretary to be summoned as a defence witness in the CBI case alleging misuse of BSNL telephone connections against DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran.
The case relates to the period 2004–07, when Maran served as Union Telecom Minister in the UPA government. The CBI has alleged that high-speed BSNL connections were unlawfully used for the commercial operations of Sun Network, linked to his brother Kalanidhi Maran, causing financial loss to the government. The trial is pending before the CBI special court in Chennai.
Earlier, the Madras High Court had directed that the telecom secretary be examined as a court witness, stating that the testimony would help clarify the limits and procedures governing telecom facilities available to a minister during that period and explain the functioning of BSNL and the department.
Challenging that direction, the CBI approached the Supreme Court. A bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Arun Palli set aside the High Court’s order to call the official as a court witness, while allowing Maran’s side to summon the telecom secretary as a defence witness during the ongoing trial before the Chennai CBI special court.
