New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) The Delhi High Court will resume Monday a hearing on the bail pleas of five corporate executives, named as co-accused in the second generation (2G) telecom spectrum case and sent to 14-day judicial custody by a lower court last week.
The five accused are Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom, Sanjay Chandra of Unitech and three officials of Anil Ambani Group: Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara. Justice Ajit Bharihoke Friday heard senior counsel Ram Jethmalani who represented Chandra.
The court also allowed Pipara, who is suffering from a heart ailment, to get himself treated at a private hospital of his choice since the All India Institute of Medical Sciences was not equipped to handle the various tests he has to undergo.
Jethmalani said his client Chandra was being held unnecessarily. ‘The trial court had no jurisdiction to keep me (my client) in jail, since — like a good law-abiding citizen — I appeared before the court after receiving the summons,’ the senior counsel said.
‘Therefore, it is totally wrong practice by the trial court under its jurisdiction to have sent me to jail,’ Jethmalani said. ‘I’ve wrongly been taken into custody, which is not under the trial court’s jurisduction.’
He said his client had applied for a telecom licence and spectrum since the industry was expanding fast, and also because the regulator had publicly stated that any number of people from any industry could apply for the same.
Counsel also said his client had earned his right to liberty and asked the court to allow him to fight his case with freedom. ‘I will say the investigation agency has not understood the charge sheet. Grant of bail is rule and rejection is an exception.’
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had named them co-accused, along with former telecom minister A. Raja, his personal aide R.K. Chandolia, former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa.
In a fresh twist to the case, the probe agency Monday also named Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi as co-conspirator in the case, while his wife Dayalu Ammal was listed as a witness.
Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi was named co-conspirator along with Sharad Kumar of Kalaignar TV, Karim Morani of Cineyug Films, and Asif Balwa and Rajiv B. Agarwal of Kusegaon Realty.
Among the accused, Raja, Chandolia, Behura, Shahid Balwa, Asif Balwa, Agarwal, Goenka, Chandra, Doshi, Nair and Pipara are in judicial custody.
