Telecom stocks rise after 2G verdict

Mumbai: Telecom stocks rose during post-noon trade session on Thursday after a Delhi court acquitted all the accused in the alleged multi-thousand crore rupee 2G spectrum scandal. At 12.40 p.m., scrip of Reliance Communications rose by 9.15 per cent to Rs 18.85 from its previous close. Similarly, stock of Idea Cellular gained by 3.72 per cent to Rs 101.70. In addition, share price of real estate major Unitech, which was alleged to have been involved in the scam rose by 12.99 per cent to Rs 8.00. However, industry major Airtel's stocks traded on a flat-to-negative note. The stock price slipped by 0.49 per cent to Rs 528.60. The upward movement in telecom stocks' prices came after Special Judge O.P. Saini acquitted all the accused, including then Telecom Minister A. Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi, in both the cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). The alleged scam on the issuance of licences and allocation of 2G spectrum by the Department of Telecom occurred during the Congress-led UPA government's first tenure in 2008, but was widely reported in 2010 following a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).