New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court will today hear the bail pleas of DMK MP Kanimozhi and five others accused in the 2G scam instead of the originally scheduled December 1.
The accused - Ms Kanimozhi, Kalaignar TV chief Sharath Kumar, Cineyug Films' Karim Morani, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd directors Asif Balwa and Rajiv B. Agarwal, and former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura - had moved the High Court on Wednesday seeking early hearing of their bail pleas.
The court had accepted their applications when it came up yesterday.
They had moved the High Court in the wake of Wednesday's Supreme Court order granting bail to five corporate executives co-accused in the case - Unitech Wireless' former MD Sanjay Chandra, Swan Telecom's Director Vinod Goenka and Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's executives Hari Nair, Gautam Doshi and Surendra Pipara.
The accused have challenged the Special Court's November 3 order denying them bail.
Citing the Supreme Court order, Ms Kanimozhi has stated in her application to the Delhi High Court that keeping her in custody for some more days would be a violation of her fundamental rights. She says she should be granted bail as even the investigating agency was not opposing her plea.
Ms Kanimozhi is the daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi. She has been accused of allegedly accepting a Rs. 214-crore bribe that was a part of India's largest swindle, the 2G scam. She was arrested and sent to Delhi's Tihar Jail in May this year.
According to sources, the lawyers for Ms Kanimozhi and the five others had wanted the court to hear the pleas yesterday itself.
Earlier this month, the High Court had issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking its response on bail applications of the six accused by December 1. The CBI has told the court that it is not opposing their bail pleas but it wants that the bail conditions should be stringent. It has also said that the accused should be asked to deposit their passports in court.
FIVE CORPORATE EXECUTIVES GET BAIL, WALK OUT OF TIHAR The five corporate executives who were arrested for their alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum scam walked out of Tihar Jail late on Wednesday evening after the Supreme Court granted them bail. They had been in jail for over seven months.
This was the first instance of accused persons being granted bail in the 2G case.
In its decision the court said, "We are conscious of the fact that the accused are charged with economic offences of huge magnitude. We are also conscious of the fact that the offences alleged, if proved, may jeopardise the economy of the country. At the same time, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the investigating agency has already completed the investigation and the chargesheet is already filed. Therefore their presence in the custody may not be necessary for further investigation. We are of the view that the appellants are entitled to the grant of bail pending trial on stringent conditions in order to allay the apprehension expressed by the CBI."
(With agency inputs)