Kanimozhi, seven others accused in 2G scam refused bail
The denial of bail came on a day Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, who is out on bail in so-called 'cash-for-votes' scam, was allowed to go abroad for treatment.
By ET Bureau | Updated:
NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and seven other accused in the ‘2G spectrum scam’ will continue to remain in prison after a Delhi court dismissed their bail pleas on Thursday citing what the judge described as “very serious nature of the charges” against them, even though the prosecutor had not opposed the bail pleas of most of the accused. Trial in the case will begin on November 11.
“The facts of the case as well as the charges levelled against the accused are of very serious nature having grave implications for the economy. I am satisfied that no case for bail is made out for any of the applicants/accused,” Special Judge OP Saini, heading the Central Bureau of Investigation Special Court, said while dismissing the applications.
The decision was criticised by some of the top lawyers. “Bail is not meant for pre-trial incarceration. Its purpose is to ensure the accused should not be able to tamper with investigation and evidence. In this case, chargesheet has already been filed. The courts have presumed (the accused) to be guilty even before trial. Obviously, liberties have been treated casually,” said Kamini Jaiswal, a senior lawyer.
The Supreme Court had earlier directed the accused to apply for bail after the filing of charges. But Judge Saini said on Thursday that framing of charges did not imply the case had turned in favour of the accused.
“I find that after framing of charges, the case has crystallised against the accused persons in clear terms, though prime facie and as such, it has moved to a higher pedestal, that is, from the stage of suspicion or grave suspicion it has reached the higher stage of prima facie acceptability,” he said.
"Their ultimate objective was to use public money in a carefully planned manner for personal use with no right to do it," Judge Saini said. Speaking to ET NOW, senior lawyer KTS Tulsi said the wording of the order seemed to indicate the accused were presumed to be guilty. "What the judge has done is grave miscarriage of justice and deliberate misapplication of law," said Ram Jethmalani, Kanimozhi's lawyer.
The denial of bail came on a day Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, who is out on bail in the so-called 'cash-for-votes' scam, was allowed to go abroad for treatment. Another heavyweight politician in legal trouble, former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, received bail in one case though he remains behind bars on other charges. The CBI court had reserved its orders last week after the CBI said it would not oppose the bail pleas of most of the accused.
RELATIVES OF ACCUSED BREAK DOWN
On Thursday, DMK leaders TR Baalu and TKS Elangovan comforted a distressed Kanimozhi as Judge Saini read out his orders in a packed courtroom. Her mother Rajathi Ammal, who broke down on hearing the verdict, husband G Aravindan and 11-year-old son were also present. This is the fourth time Kanimozhi's bail plea has been rejected.
“The facts of the case as well as the charges levelled against the accused are of very serious nature having grave implications for the economy. I am satisfied that no case for bail is made out for any of the applicants/accused,” Special Judge OP Saini, heading the Central Bureau of Investigation Special Court, said while dismissing the applications.
The decision was criticised by some of the top lawyers. “Bail is not meant for pre-trial incarceration. Its purpose is to ensure the accused should not be able to tamper with investigation and evidence. In this case, chargesheet has already been filed. The courts have presumed (the accused) to be guilty even before trial. Obviously, liberties have been treated casually,” said Kamini Jaiswal, a senior lawyer.
The Supreme Court had earlier directed the accused to apply for bail after the filing of charges. But Judge Saini said on Thursday that framing of charges did not imply the case had turned in favour of the accused.
“I find that after framing of charges, the case has crystallised against the accused persons in clear terms, though prime facie and as such, it has moved to a higher pedestal, that is, from the stage of suspicion or grave suspicion it has reached the higher stage of prima facie acceptability,” he said.
"Their ultimate objective was to use public money in a carefully planned manner for personal use with no right to do it," Judge Saini said. Speaking to ET NOW, senior lawyer KTS Tulsi said the wording of the order seemed to indicate the accused were presumed to be guilty. "What the judge has done is grave miscarriage of justice and deliberate misapplication of law," said Ram Jethmalani, Kanimozhi's lawyer.
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The denial of bail came on a day Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, who is out on bail in the so-called 'cash-for-votes' scam, was allowed to go abroad for treatment. Another heavyweight politician in legal trouble, former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, received bail in one case though he remains behind bars on other charges. The CBI court had reserved its orders last week after the CBI said it would not oppose the bail pleas of most of the accused.
RELATIVES OF ACCUSED BREAK DOWN
On Thursday, DMK leaders TR Baalu and TKS Elangovan comforted a distressed Kanimozhi as Judge Saini read out his orders in a packed courtroom. Her mother Rajathi Ammal, who broke down on hearing the verdict, husband G Aravindan and 11-year-old son were also present. This is the fourth time Kanimozhi's bail plea has been rejected.
Dressed in an orange salwar-kameez, Kanimozhi wept and hugged her mother minutes after Judge Saini rejected her bail plea. Other DMK leaders, Durai Murugan, Vasanthi Stalin and actress Khushboo, along with several party workers were also present in the courtroom.
The daughters of Cineyug Films promoter Karim Morani and the wives of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa and Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables promoter Rajeev Aggarwal were also in tears as Judge Saini read out his orders.
The three were among the eight whose bail pleas were rejected. Judge Saini dismissed the arguments of Kanimozhi's lawyers who had sought bail under Section 437 that allows bail to a woman, a person who is sick or infirm. Morani had invoked the provision citing his long history of illness.
"Accused Kanimozhi Karunanidhi belongs to upper echelons of the society and is also a Member of Parliament. By no stretch of imagination she can be said to be suffering from any discrimination on ground of being a woman alone," the judge added.
"For a woman, the reason is that they are generally considered weak and exploited section of the society, both socially and economically, and, as such, require some extra protection and sympathetic treatment" whether these beneficial factors are available to accused Karim Morani and Kanimozhi in this case?
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The answer to the question is an emphatic "No", Saini said in his 76-page order. The judge added that the probe agency not opposing bail had 'no legal consequence'. The special court also denied bail to Kalaignar TV co-promoter Sharad Kumar, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables promoter Asif Balwa, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura and former telecom minister A Raja's ex-aide RK Chandolia.All eight had applied for bail on October 24 after the trial court framed charges against all the accused. The charges range from criminal breach of trust, corruption, criminal conspiracy, falsification of documents to cheating and abetment to the crime.
All the accused had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Kanimozhi, daughter of former Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK party leader M Karunanidhi, has been in prison since May 20, after the investigating agency alleged the TV channel in which she was a 20% shareholder had accepted Rs 209 crore as 'illegal gratification' or bribe from DB Group in return for favours Raja had allegedly extended to that company by helping it obtain a telecom licence.
The CBI had said in its chargesheet that this payment was meant as a quid pro quo for mobile permits that DB Realty-owned Swan Telecom won in 13 circles and that she was the 'active brain' behind the money trail. Last month, the special court had framed charges against Raja and 16 other accused after Judge Saini ruled there was sufficient evidence for all to stand trial.
NEED TO PROTECT WITNESSES
Saini also said witnesses in the case must be protected, as they would be "gunder a lot of pressure, given the serious consequences of the case for the parties. This is further compounded by the fact that the witnesses are employees, relatives, family members, colleagues and subordinates of the accused persons."
"Rights of the victim and witnesses are also no less valuable and are required to be protected equally during the trialc One way of generating a sense of security in the mind of the victim and the witnesses is to keep the accused in custory till their evidence is complete," Judge Saini said in his order.
Others accused in the case include Unitech Group's Sanjay Chandra, DB Realty and Swan Telecom promoter Vinod Goenka, Reliance ADA Group executives, group managing director Gautam Doshi, senior vicepresidents Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara, apart from three companies Swan Telecom, Reliance Telecom and Unitech Wireless. Their bail applications are pending before the Supreme Court. All accused, with the exception of Raja, have filed multiple bail applications across different courts. They have now spent between five to nine months in jail.
Later, when the media approached Kanimozhi, the lawmaker lashed out at journalists asking them to leave the courtroom. "Are you not human beings? Why are you people standing here? Please leave from here," she said. Her husband Aravindan was heard asking the legal counsels, "What does this (order denying bail) mean?" DB Realty's stock plunged immediately after the judge pronounced his orders but recovered to close at Rs 71.8 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, down 2.05%.
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The 2G case, in which a clutch of companies are accused of receiving precious telecom spectrum at throwaway prices in 2008, has become a byword for large-scale plunder of state resources in the mind of the public and a major embarrassment for the Congress-led government that is battling a raft of corruption scandals. In addition to top corporate executives, the court had also charged three companies. Reliance Telecom Ltd, a unit of billionaire Anil Ambanifs flagshipcompany Reliance Communications Ltd, Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless.The alleged scam has also cast a shadow on foreign direct investment in India. It has also tarnished the image of the country's telecoms sector that was long considered the poster boy of reforms post liberalisation. Raja and Behura will be tried for 'criminal breach of trust by a public servant' in the 2G spectrums scam, which if proved, could lead to life imprisonment. The 14 other accused will stand trail for criminal conspiracy, which also carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
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