File photo: Former Telecom Minister A Raja.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and 17 others, facing trial in a 2G scam-related money laundering case, will have to answer a questionnaire containing 400 queries during recording of their statements in the matter before a special court.
The court today supplied the questionnaire to the counsel of the accused, observing that it would facilitate recording of statements with "ease and felicity" as the records of the case were technical and voluminous.
"For recording of statements of accused persons, questions were required to be drafted," Special CBI Judge OP Saini said.
"Since the records of the case are technical and voluminous, I deem it proper that if a draft copy of the questionnaire is supplied to counsel for each accused in advance, it would facilitate the recording of statements of accused persons as they would be able to understand the questions and reply to the same with ease and felicity," the judge said.
The court said, "Accordingly, a soft copy of the draft questionnaire, containing the questions to be put to each accused, has been supplied to the counsel for each accused and the prosecution also."
The recording of statements would commence from March 16. The court clarified that although some of the questions might appear to be lengthy but it has been done so that the facts remain clear and compact.
"I may also add that some questions, on the face of it, may appear to be lengthy and complicated, but it is not so as documents and evidence relating to a particular fact have been inserted/recorded in a single question to make the fact clear, compact and easily understandable, otherwise there would have been a large number of questions, creating inconvenience for the parties as well as the court," the judge said.
Raja, Kanimozhi, DMK leader M Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal, Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL) promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka and 14 others, including nine firms, are facing trial in the case in which ED had on April 25, last year filed a charge sheet against them for alleged offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).