2G scam: Supreme Court refuses to cancel Sanjay Chandra's bail

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has refused to cancel the bail of Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra, one of the accused in the 2G spectrum scam. The Central Bureau of Investigation moved the court alleging that Chandra had tried to interfere in the case by approaching the public prosecutor, and thus violating his bail conditions.

The court had set him free on bail on November 23, 2011 after CBI filed a chargesheet against him. Under the bail conditions, he was mandated not to directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts so as to dissuade him from disclosing these facts to the court or any other authority.

Chandra approached public prosecutor AK Singh to “influence the conduct and outcome of the trial,” CBI alleged. The agency has since removed Singh, who was heard talking to Chandra in a sting operation, from the case and placed him under suspension. Singh was heard in the tapes advising Chandra on how to deal with the trial being carried on a day-to-day basis by the 2G special court. A two-judge bench, comprising HL Dattu and SA Bobde, rejected the CBI plea after hearing special 2G prosecutor Uday Lalit.

“Not at this stage,” Justice Dattu said, after he sought to know the progress in the trial. Lalit said the prosecution witnesses had already been examined in the case. Now, the case has been listed for the accused to make his statement, Lalit said. He insisted that the court act against Chandra as a matter of principle. But the bench wouldn’t hear of it. “Where is the question of interfering at this stage?” Justice Dattu asked. “Can we send him back after two years unless the case has been prejudiced beyond repair?”