The Supreme Court Tuesday issued notice to the CBI on the petitions filed by DMK leader Kanimozhi and others seeking the quashing of the charges framed against them in the 2G case being heard by a special court on day to day basis.
A bench of Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan while issuing the notices gave the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) six weeks' time to file its response.
This is the first hearing of the matter after Justice G.S. Singhvi (since retired) requested Chief Justice P. Sathasivam to assign it to another bench in view of his approaching retirement.
Others who have challenged the framing of charges by the 2G special court and on whose petition, notice has been issued including DB Reality's Shahid Balwa, Reliance Telecom Ltd, and its top executive Surendra Pipara, Gautam Dosi and Hari Nair.
All the petitioners had moved the apex court challenging the framing of charges against them.
Initially they had moved Delhi High Court, but on the plea by the CBI, the matter was put on hold as the apex court bench of Justice Singhvi and Justice Radhakrishnan said that they would first decide the challenge to their April 11, 2011, order by which the high court was barred from entertaining any plea against the orders of special CBI court hearing 2G cases.
The court had said that if they recall their April 11, 2011 order, then the high court would hear their pleas otherwise it would dealt by the apex court.
The court by its Sep 3, 2012, order rejected the plea of corporate honchos Shahid Balwa, Vinod Goenka, Rajiv Agarwal and Asif Balwa as well as by Ravinder Kumar Chandolia, a former aide of ex-telecom minister A. Raja, challenging its April 11, 2011 order.
As the plea by Kanimozhi, Shahid Balwa, Reliance Telecom Ltd and others was awaiting to be taken up Jan 7, an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Sathasivam said that the matter would be heard Jan 21 after senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned it.
Urging the court to list the matter, Singhvi had told the court that the plea for the quashing of charges was pending for quite some time and the trial in the matter going on.
Kanimozhi had moved the apex court July 24, 2012, for the quashing of charges framed against her by the special 2G court and also the charge sheet by the CBI. The special court had framed the charges Oct 22, 2011.
The daughter of party chief M. Karunanidhi had contended that she was one of the directors of the Kalaignar TV for a short period of two weeks from June 6, 2007 to June 20, 2007 - when she resigned and she had nothing to do with channel's financial transaction.
Kanimozhi was charged under section 120-B (conspiracy), read with 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 193 (punishment for false evidence) of Indian Penal Code and other provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI had argued that Kanimozhi was an active brain behind the operation of Kalaignar TV and was in constant touch with Raja for the launching of the channel.
