CBI again opposes Kanimozhi bail plea (Third Lead)
June 17th, 2011 - 9:42 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, June 17 (IANS) The CBI Friday opposed in the Supreme Court the bail plea of jailed DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV managing director Sharad Kumar in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said it feared that if they got bail, then they could tamper with the evidence and influence witnesses, thereby hurting the investigation now at an advanced stage.
The CBI expressed the apprehension in an affidavit while opposing requests for bail from Kanimozhi, daughter of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi, and Kumar in the apex court.
In a related development Friday evening, a special bench was constituted after Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice A.K. Patnaik recused themselves from hearing the bail plea.
The judges are on the vacation bench starting from Monday, and the bail plea was listed before them.
Now the special bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice B.S. Chauhan has been set up to hear the bail plea Monday.
Justice Singhvi is the presiding judge along with Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly that is monitoring CBI investigation into the spectrum scam that has sent former telecommunication minister A. Raja also to prison.
The CBI has said that its investigation reveal that the Rs.200 crore paid to Kalaingar TV by DB Reality was not a loan but a gratification and could not be termed a legal transaction.
The affidavit said that both Kanimozhi and Kumar were stakeholders in Kalaingar TV, and Rs.200 crore was paid back to DB Reality only after the CBI filed its first FIR in the scam Oct 21, 2010.
The agency said this itself was strong circumstantial evidence supporting its contention that the Rs.200 crore paid to Kalaingar TV was an illegal transaction.
Most points in its affidavit were broadly the same it advanced while opposing the bail plea before the special CBI court and Delhi High Court.
The CBI also mentioned the reasons recorded by the special CBI court and the high court while rejecting the earlier bail requests.
The high court June 8 cited prima facie evidence against the two and their political connections to deny them bail.
However, the CBI was ambiguous in replying to the three questions posed by the apex court bench of Justice B.S. Chauhan and Justice Swatanter Kumar while hearing the bail plea June 13.
The questions related to what happened to the Rs.200 crore paid as bribe to Kalaignar TV, the loss suffered by the government in the grant of 13 Unified Access Service (UAS) licences, and the status of 2G trial before the special CBI court.
–Indo-Asian News service
pk/sak/mr
- CBI opposes Kanimozhi bail plea (Second Lead) - Jun 17, 2011
- Supreme Court to hear Kanimozhi bail plea June 20 - Jun 13, 2011
- CBI opposes Kanimozhi bail plea (Lead) - Jun 17, 2011
- Supreme Court rejects Kanimozhi's bail plea - Jun 20, 2011
- Kanimozhi, Sharad Kumar's bail order reserved (Lead) - May 30, 2011
- Kanimozhi, Sharad Kumar's bail order reserved (Second Lead) - May 30, 2011
- Kanimozhi, Sharad Kumar's bail pleas dismissed (Second Lead) - Jun 08, 2011
- Supreme Court rejects Kanimozhi's bail plea (Lead) - Jun 20, 2011
- Kanimozhi, Sharad Kumar's bail plea rejected (Lead) - Jun 08, 2011
- 2G scam: Three accused withdraw bail pleas - Jun 20, 2011
- Kanimozhi active brain behind 2G scam: CBI tells court (Lead) - May 07, 2011
- High court notice to CBI on Kanimozhi's bail plea - May 24, 2011
- Delhi High Court issues notice to CBI on 2G accused's plea - May 07, 2012
- Apex court defers Kanimozhi bail plea to June 20 - Jun 13, 2011
- Supreme Court to hear Kanimozhi, Sharad Kumar bail pleas Monday - Jun 12, 2011
Tags: affidavit, apex court, apprehension, asok kumar, bail plea, cbi court, central bureau of investigation, chief minister, circumstantial evidence, contention, crore, delhi high court, friday evening, ganguly, gratification, legal transaction, presiding judge, raja, related development, rs 200