"The order is deferred to May 20," Special CBI Judge O P Saini said after marking the presence of all the accused including 43-year-old Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi.

Seeing a huge presence of journalists, Saini questioned as to why there were so many journalists and then simply passed the order. CBI lawyer A K Singh told reporters outside the court that the only reason which the judge gave for not pronouncing the order was that it was not ready.

The court also adjourned its pronouncement of order till May 20 on the bail plea of Sharad Kumar, MD and CEO of Kalaignar TV. Kanimozhi was accompanied by her husband G Aravindan and DMK parliamentary party leader T R Baalu.

Earlier, the court had on May 7 reserved its order on the bail pleas of Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar after hearing extensive arguments advanced by criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani who, citing the charge sheet, blamed former Telecom Minister A Raja for the offence attributed to Kanimozhi.

The special court, designated by the Supreme Court to deal exclusively with the 2G case, has to decide the fate of Kanimozhi who has been accused of taking Rs 200 crore bribe for Kalaignar TV from Shahid Usman Balwa's firm DB Realty.

The CBI has accused her of conspiring with Raja. She has also been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act for taking bribe through Kalaignar TV--a channel run by the DMK -- in which the bribe of the 2G scam was routed.