New Delhi:
Kanimozhi, the young Rajya Sabha MP, whose request for bail was turned down recently, will stay in jail till December.
She was arrested on May 20 and will go on trial on Friday for her alleged role in the telecom scam. Kanimozhi's father, M Karunanidhi, is the head of the DMK; the southern party is a senior member of the UPA coalition at the Centre.
Judge OP Saini, who is handling the trial for the telecom scam, rejected her bail on November 3. He said that her lawyers had erred in suggesting that as a woman, she was entitled legally to leniency - they had cited a section of the law that allows for bail for women, under 16s and sick people. Judge Saini stressed that Kanimozhi's privileged background and her status as an MP does not make her an average woman prisoner.
So her lawyers appealed against his verdict in the Delhi High Court. The CBI had told Judge Saini that it does not oppose bail for Kanimozhi and five others who are in prison for the telecom scam. The High Court has asked the CBI to explain its stand by December. While the investigating agency is likely to repeat that it does not object to her leaving prison, the next date of hearing - December 1 - means Kanimozhi will remain at Delhi's Tihar Jail.
She has been accused of helping former Telecom minister A Raja accept a 214-crore kickback from a company who was allegedly shown undue favour by him. Like Kanimozhi, Mr Raja is from the DMK and is in jail.
Her lawyers have repeatedly said that while she was politically close to Mr Raja, she did not benefit in any way from his alleged manipulation of policy to benefit firms he has been accused of criminally conspiring with. The CBI has said that Mr Raja's swindle cost the country 30,000 crores. The premise of the scam is that he gave out-of-turn licences and spectrum to companies for a pittance.
She is learning in jail to meditate, according to the Press Trust of India. The agency cites an unnamed jail official who shares Kanimozhi "is doing sadhana, engaging herself in introspection, spiritual empowerment and dhyan" as part of the meditation lessons offered at Tihar Jail.