SC asks Centre to examine Tata''s plea on Radia tapes row

The Supreme Court today permitted industrialist Ratan Tata to approach the Centre for disclosure of certain contents of the confidential report placed before it on Nira Radia tapes relating to secret conversations of politicians, bureaucrats and media personnel.

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhyaya, which allowed the submission of counsel Mukul Rohtagi for the Tatas', asked the Centre to pass an appropriate order as to whether it can disclose the contents or was seeking immunity from disclosure of the information.

The apex court said it will examine at a later stage the alleged role of some private operators in the telephone tapping controversy. The bench further directed the court staff to re-seal the confidential report placed before it on January 31 by the government and adjourned the matter.

Earlier, the Centre had informed the apex court that the Radia tapes, which found its way into media organisations, were tampered and government agencies were not responsible for its leakage. Placing a report in a sealed envelope before the bench, the government had said 8 to 10 agencies were involved in the tapping of conversations of former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia which included service providers.

The report said the starting and the end point of the conversations do not match with the original tapes, Justice Singhvi had earlier said referring to the report. He said the report also said officers, who had conducted the probe, do not know who has done it. "It is quite possible that someone else has done it," the bench said.