New Delhi: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Saturday deferred till October 17 the hearing on the bail application of DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalignar TV chief Sharad Kumar accused in the 2G spectrum case.
Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar`s counsel Sushil Kumar and Altaf Ahmed told CBI special judge OP Saini: "We want to argue on the bail application only after the court frames charges against our clients in the scam."
The counsel cited the Supreme Court`s earlier order which said the accused can only seek bail after the charges are framed against them and their bail application will be decided by the special court hearing the 2G case, while making the submissions.
Judge Saini agreed to their plea and said the arguments on their bail applications can be heard October 17 as it may frame charges against the accused by that time.
The Supreme Court, while dismissing their bail pleas on June 20, had said that such applications could be taken up only after charges are framed in the case.
Kanimozhi and Kumar meanwhile today argued in the special court that they cannot be said to have committed a criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy in the 2G scam as they were not related in any way to the alleged dishonest disposal of the spectrum.
Responding to a fresh plea of the CBI, which sought the trial court`s nod to frame fresh charges against the 17 accused, including former communication minister A Raja, both Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar asked the court to dismiss the agency`s application and "render justice".
Their lawyers submitting their reply before the Special Judge said Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar had nothing to do with the allocation of spectrum nor were they in any way the beneficiary of the spectrum licences so allocated.
They said even the CBI had said that the two were not part of the conspiracy relating to allocation of spectrum.
"The offence punishable under Section 409 r/w 120 B IPC (Indian Penal Code) inasmuch as they were not related in any way to the alleged dishonest disposal of the valuable spectrum illegally, in violation of the existing policies and eligibility criterion in order to confer wrongful gain to the corporate officials," said Kanimozhi and Kumar in their reply application.
The CBI had on September 26 asked the special court for permission to frame charges for criminal breach of trust by a public servant against Raja, his former aide RK Chandolia, and former telecom department secretary Siddartha Behura.
Criminal breach of trust is a non-bailable offence with punishment that stretches from 10 years to life imprisonment.
The special CBI court today also deferred the arguments on the bail pleas of five other accused by Monday.
The court will on Monday hear arguments on bail pleas of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa, Cineyug Films director Karim Morani, Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, both directors of Kusegaon Fruits & Vegetables Pvt Ltd, and RK Chandolia, ex-personal secretary to Raja, in the case.
IANS
