New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to CBI on former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura’s bail plea and extended the interim stay on the Delhi High Court’s order of putting on hold the bail granted to A Raja’s former private secretary R K Chandolia by trial court in 2G scam case.
Agreeing to hear the bail plea of both the accused, a bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi refused to grant any immediate relief saying that “without hearing CBI no order can be passed”.
With Monday’s order Chandolia, who was granted bail by the trial court, will remain out of jail till the next date of hearing.
The court also issued notice to CBI on his bail plea. Out of the 14 accused persons in the 2G scam case, only the prime accused, former telecom minister A Raja and Behura remain in jail as the 12 other accused including the DMK MP Kanimozi and others have been granted bail by different courts.
Chandolia approached the apex court against the high court’s suo-motu decision to stay the grant of bail to him by the special court on December 1, 2011 saying that the order was “unwarranted and erroneous”.
The high court had taken suo-motu cognisance of news reports on grant of bail to Chandolia and suspended it, saying that his release would have an “impact” on Behura’s bail plea, on which the verdict was then reserved.
Later on, Behura was also denied bail by the high court. Behura also challenged the High Court’s order of December 16, 2011 denying him bail on the ground that he was the “perpetrator” of the illegal design of Raja and cannot claim benefit of parity with others released on bail.
The apex court had on December 7, 2011 put on hold the high court’s suo-motu decision of staying grant of bail to Chandolia. Behura and Chandolia were arrested by CBI along with A Raja on February 2 last year.
The High Court, while dismissing bail plea of Behura, said “One thing, which emerges from their (witnesses) statements, is very clear that the petitioner (Behura) has been a perpetrator of illegal design of Raja and, therefore, his role was distinguishable from 10 accused who have been granted bail and were beneficiary of illegal act.”(PTI)