Dismissed! That one keyword from a CBI court on Thursday quashed the hopes of eight of the 2G scam accused, including DMK MP Kanimozhi, of leaving Tihar Jail.
Emotional outbursts and consolation followed in quick succession once the judge, O P Saini, pronounced his verdict. Soon after, an uneasy silence broke out in the jam-packed court room at the Patiala House here. The drama had a star presence too: actress Khushboo made an appearance to console Kani, 43, daughter of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi. Once the news sank in, a battery of lawyers took charge and got busy planning the next move for these 2G accused — to approach the Delhi High Court.
Apart from Kanimozhi, others whose bail applications got rejected on Thursday were Kalaignar TV managing director Sharath Kumar, Kusegaon Foods and Vegetables directors Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal, Cineyug Enterprises MD Karim Morani, DB Realty promoter Shahid Balwa and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura besides R K Chandolia, who was personal secretary of A Raja when he was telecom minister.
Judge Saini said the court, “keeping the best interest of justice in mind”, had found all the bail applications without merit — and hence rejected them all. This is despite the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) not objecting to five of the eight bail applications, as the agency differentiated between primary liability and secondary liability of the accused.
The trial court, in its order, said that “no objection (of CBI) is of no consequence in the eyes of law”. He said “the charges and allegations levelled against the accused are of grave nature, and no objection in my humble opinion is of no legal consequence”.
Even as Kani put up a very brave front at the court, her mother and all those from the DMK who came to support the MP broke down after the verdict. Karunanidhi had met ruling Congress president Sonia Gandhi before Diwali, and Kanimozhi’s bail might have come up for discussion.
The judge said Kanimozhi did not deserve bail on the grounds that she is a woman. In his 76-page order, he said Kanimozhi “belongs to upper echelons of society and is also a member of Parliament. By no stretch of imagination she can be said to be suffering from any discrimination on the ground of being a woman alone.”
Saini also refused bail to the accused on the apprehension that evidence could be tampered with and witnesses influenced in the case. “The facts and the circumstances of the case suggest that the witnesses would be under 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…such apprehension is well founded,” Saini said.
For the defence counsels, the court order was “unexpected” and the next step would be to apply for bail in the high court. Said Vijay Agarwal, senior advocate and counsel for Balwa and Chandolia: “We would wait for the Supreme Court to give its verdict on the bail applications of five of the accused and then put in our application in the high court.” Earlier this week, the apex court had reserved its verdict on the bail pleas of Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra, Swan Telecom director Vinod Goenka and the three top Reliance Telecom executives: Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair.
The trial of the 2G case is going to start from November 11, where witnesses will be cross-examined and arguments on the final charges will be put forth by both parties.
The special CBI judge also noted in his order on Thursday that “after the framing of charge, case has crystalised against the accused persons in clear terms…it has reached the higher stage of prima facie acceptability.”
There are 17 accused, including three companies, in the 2G spectrum allocation case. Former telecom minister A Raja is the prime accused in the case which had prompted the CAG to come out with a report last year pegging the notional loss to the exchequer at Rs 1.76 lakh-crore for not opting for the auction route in 2G spectrum allocation in 2007-08.
