Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: DMK chief M Karunanidhi`s daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi will approach Delhi High Court to challenge the special CBI court’s refusal to grant her bail, reports claimed on Friday.
As per reports, the DMK central leadership is hugely disappointed by the CBI court’s denial of bail to DMK MP Kanimozhi and seven others accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam and is now ready for a legal war.
The decision to move High Court was taken a day after the special CBI Judge O P Saini dismissed the bail pleas of the accused and posted the case for further hearing on November 11, when the trial will begin.
The others whose bail petitions were dismissed were former Telecom Minister A Raja`s erstwhile Private Secretary R K Chandolia, former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar, Kusegaon Fruits & Vegetables directors Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal and Bollywood filmmaker Karim Morani.
Dismissing the bail pleas, the court said, "The facts of the case as well as the charges levelled against the accused are of very serious nature having grave implications for the economy of the country," the court said.
"I am satisfied that no case for bail is made out for any of the applicants/accused," it said.
On Kanimozhi, the court said, "Accused Kanimozhi Karunanithi belongs to upper echelons of society and is also a Member of Parliament. By no stretch of imagination, she can be said to be suffering from any discrimination on the ground of being a woman." Kanoimozhi is in jail since May 20 this year.
During the last hearing, the CBI had said that it had no objection to their release on the ground that they face trial for offences, entailing a maximum jail term of only five years, if convicted.
However, the court rejected CBI`s stand saying there cannot be a distinction between the accused charged on the basis of whether they are named in the main chargesheet or the supplementary chargesheet. “There is only one chargesheet in the eyes of law," the court observed.
The court also dismissed the pleas of various accused for bail on the ground that they had been languishing in jail for over five to nine months, while the trial was unlikely to conclude in near future.
"It is repeatedly submitted that these reasons make out good ground for bail to the accused. I have bestowed my careful and anxious consideration to these submissions. In the facts and circumstances of a particular case, these factors may be relevant consideration but in some cases it may not be so," the Judge said.
The 2G spectrum case is also under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court so the apex court’s view on it would be important.
