NEW DELHI: The bail pleas of DMK MP Kanimozhi and seven other accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam were Thursday dismissed by a CBI special court that said all the applications were without merit. They will continue to be lodged in the Tihar Jail.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge O.P. Saini said: “All the bail applications are dismissed. The court will begin trial from Nov 11.”
“The facts of the cases as well as the charges levelled against accused are of very serious nature having grave implications for the economy,” the judge said.
“The bail applications are without merit and the same are dismissed,” he added.
Besides Kanimozhi, the other seven accused whose bail applications were dismissed were: Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, former communications minister A. Raja’s then private secretary R.K. Chandolia, Kalaignar TV chief Sharad Kumar, directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt. Ltd. Asif Balwa and Rajiv B. Agarwal, Bollywood producer Karim Morani and former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura. The CBI had not opposed the bail pleas of Kanimozhi, Sharad Kumar, Asif Balwa, Agarwal and Morani. This was the fourth time that Kanimozhi was refused bail. She has been in jail since May 20 for allegedly helping fellow DMK members and Raja accept a Rs.200 crore in kickbacks.
In Kanimozhi’s three earlier attempts for bail, including one that was heard by the Supreme Court, the CBI had contested her petitions.
All bail seekers were present in court Thursday. Several of their family members broke into tears after the ruling.
While dismissing the bail application of Kanimozhi, daughter of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi, the court said: “Accused Kanimozhi belongs to upper echelons of the society and she is also a MP. By no stretch of imagination she can be said to be suffering from any discrimination on ground of being a women alone.”
The DMK, which was banking on Kanimozhi’s release, was shocked. “Party leaders are in shock. The party will remain silent. Lawyers will make a statement,” a DMK leader said in Chennai.
Rejecting Morani’s application, the court said: “On the basis of medical papers already on record, it cannot be held that the standard of illness of the accused is so high as to categorise his custody as detrimental to his health.”
The special judge also said he had passed this order “to the best of my knowledge and ability without being influenced by the earlier orders on the bail applications or by any other extraneous influence, but solely on the basis of the facts and circumstances of the case”.
Judge Saini observed that after framing charges, the case has crystallized against the accused in clear terms, though prima facie, and 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.
“A more serious section of 409 of the Indian Penal Code (criminal breach of trust) has been added, which is punishable with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years. Accordingly, I find myself in agreement with the prosecution that after framing charges, there is no favourable change in the case for the accused, which may assist the court in exercising its discretion regarding bail in their favour,” observed the court.
The Supreme court advised Kanimozhi in June to wait till the charges were framed against her by the special court and apply for bail again in the trial court.
The special court later accepted all charges levelled by the CBI against the 14 individuals arrested for the scam so far.
Raja, who was arrested in February, has been charged with criminal breach of trust by a public servant, so has been Behura. The others have been accused of criminal conspiracy in trying to bribe a public servant. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Other charges include cheating to forgery.
Of the 14 individuals arrested, Raja alone has not applied for bail yet. (IANS)