JOIN USJustice V K Shali issued notice to the investigating agency and sought its reply by December 1 on the bail applications.
Kanimozhi, DMK-run Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd directors Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal and Bollywood producer Karim Morani have approached the high court, challenging the special court’s order of November 3, denying them bail.
Senior advocate Altaf Ahmed submitted that the special court refused to grant the accused bail ignoring the CBI’s decision not to oppose their plea.
Taking the counsel’s submission into account, Justice Shali asked CBI advocate to explain if there was any change in its stand. Senior advocate Mohan Parasaran, appearing for CBI, on his part reiterated the stand taken before the trial court, contending that there was no deviation in viewpoint.
DMK supremo Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi has been in Tihar Jail since her arrest on May 20.
Special Judge O P Saini had dismissed bail application of Kanimozhi and others, saying the charges against them are of grave nature and the CBI's concession of not objecting to their bail pleas was of “no consequence in the eyes of law”.
The CBI had preferred not to oppose the bail pleas of Kanimozhi, Sharad Kumar, Asif Balwa, Rajeev Agarwal and Karim Morani, whose names had figured in the supplementary charge sheet filed on April 25.
The accused have been in jail for the last five to nine months.Denying bail to Kanimozhi, the court had also rejected her plea for it on grounds of being a woman, saying that she “belongs to upper echelons of society and is also a Member of Parliament” and cannot be “said to be suffering on account of being a woman”.