The CBI cleared the Tata Group conglomerate on Thursday, saying it had committed no wrongdoing in the massive 2g spectrum scam that has rocked the government.

The Central Bureau of Investigation told a court that Tata Telecom, an arm of the sprawling tea-to-steel group, headed by Ratan Tata, was not a "beneficiary" in the case that the national auditor estimates cost the state nearly $40 billion in lost revenue.

"The real beneficiaries are the new people who got new licences," the submission said.

Prosecutors allege former telecom minister A. Raja sold telecom licences at give-away prices in 2008 to favoured companies that paid bribes to gain sought-after 2G bandwidth in the world''s fastest-growing mobile phone market.

More than a dozen people are in jail over the telecom scandal, notably Raja, Kanimozhi, other top officials and business executives from companies such as mobile giant Reliance Communications.

Anil Ambani, who heads the Reliance ADA Group which owns Reliance Communications, was questioned by the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee over the sale of telecom licences, but has not been charged.

All those accused in the case by police have denied any wrongdoing.