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The Madras high court cancelled the anticipatory bail it had earlier granted to former Union minister for communications and information technology Dayanidhi Maran.
This was on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged illegal usage of Bharat Sanchar Nigam telephone connections when he was in power. The HC gave Maran three days to surrender at CBI. Judge S Vaidyanathan’s order of Monday allowed a petition filed by CBI against the interim anticipatory bail granted on June 30. The court also dismissed Maran’s petition for anticipatory bail.
“After evaluating the entire available material against the petitioner, I find prima facie the exact role of the petitioner being the Union minister for communications and information technology in misusing his office for his wrongful gain by obtaining telephone connections illegally in the name of BSNL officials...and I do not find any frivolity in the prosecution and the allegations...are corroborated by the material and circumstances on record,” went the order.
The interim anticipatory bail of June 30 was given, with conditions, for six weeks. The matter came up on Monday, with the bail to expire on Tuesday. Maran’s counsel argued for either continuation of interim bail or grant of anticipatory bail till finalisation of accusation proceedings. The Union additional solicitor general opposed the pleas.
CBI had alleged a little more than 300 high-speed telephone lines were provided at Maran’s residence and extended to his brother’s Sun TV channel to enable its uplinking. It has alleged that during 2004-2007, when Maran was minister, he abused his official position in collusion with officials of BSNL, Chennai (including K B Brahamdathan, then chief general manager, Chennai Telephones, and M P Velusamy, CGM, BSNL, Chennai, and others) by having installed these telephone connections and 19 postpaid mobile connections at his residence while showing these as under ‘service category’.
During investigation, an estimated loss amounting to Rs 1,78,71,391 was arrived at as caused to the government exchequer, CBI told the court. Maran’s counsel denied all the charges and argued absolutely no ground had been made to implicate the petitioner.
