2G case: A saga of twists and turns

Scam twist The special judge was not impressed even by Supreme Court view that the accused may seek bail

The unexpected denial of bail to DMK MP Kanimozhi and others even after the framing of charges against all 17 accused, came as a shocker to many, particularly DMK leaders and workers.

It has been several months since Kanimozhi and other high-profile accused have been put behind the bars.

Legal pundits are pondering whether rejection of the plea made by some of the accused for release has thrown bail jurisprudence to the winds.

But one should not lose sight of the fact that the case, since registration of FIR on October 21, 2009, has been an unprecedented one in several ways. To name a few, the involvement of big corporates and huge sums of money that the exchequer is presumed to have lost.

Coming to the issue of bail, if one takes a closer look at the special court’s order, it becomes clear that the trial judge was not willing to go merely by the CBI’s concession to all the five accused on the ground that they were arraigned in the supplementary chargesheet filed by the investigating agency.

Special Judge O P Saini said that the CBI’s decision of not opposing the bail application of Kanimozhi and others was of no consequence in the eyes of the law.

The Supreme Court’s observation that the accused could seek bail after framing of the charges did not have the expected impact on the special court as far as their liberty was concerned.

Bail, a balancing factor

Former Delhi High Court judge, Justice R S Sodhi, however, says that the right of arrest given to the police and investigating agency would fall foul of the Constitutional provisions if there is no right to bail.

“If the detention is rule, one has to have something to restore the right to liberty guaranteed under the Constitution. Bail is the only balancing factor to the curtailment of the right to life and liberty (Article 21). That is why, bail is treated as a rule, while jail an exception,” he says.

Notably, the court refused to regard those named as accused in the supplementary chargesheet and those in the main chargesheet.

It said since the 2G case was of such grave magnitude, the CBI’s stand of raising no objection to the bail plea is sans any legal consequence.

In all scam-related cases, the accused may be granted conditional bail if the prosecuting agency is able to seize the substantial chunk of cheated amount, says Delhi-based criminal lawyer Amit Kumar. According to him, the denial of bail amounts to pre-trial conviction. “How will the state compensate for loss of their precious time if the accused gets acquitted,” he asks.

Interestingly, CBI’s act of slapping stricter criminal breach of trust charge along with criminal conspiracy against all the accused even after filing of the chargesheet came as an afterthought for the accused.

But the special court found good enough prima facie materials of this charge as well against the accused, which put them in danger of being awarded life term as maximum punishment in case of conviction.

Former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura’s contention - if five accused named in the supplementary chargesheet can get bail, so could he -- put the prosecuting agency in a piquant situation.

He complained that the decision of the prosecuting agency to discriminate among the accused depicted “political intrusion into the legal process”.

He questioned the basis on which CBI was differentiating between the accused as those who deserved to get bail and those who did not.

It would be interesting to see the turn of events in the coming days as Kanimozhi and others have challenged the special court’s order in Delhi High Court.

No wonder that DMK leaders, including party patriarch M Karunanidhi, were dismayed over the special court’s order refusing bail to Kanimozhi. They said the RS MP got step-motherly treatment.

Chidu’s ordeal

Janata Party president Subramaniam Swamy, armed with a court order directing the CBI to share the details of a file allegedly containing ex-Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s endorsements on 2G allocation, is confident of having enough material to show that the present Home Minister is as much guilty as Raja.

The special court is yet to hear Swamy’s plea to make Chidambaram an accused in the case, while the apex court  pronouncement on a similar application is awaited.

As the special court began the trial last week with the recording of evidence, everything does not seem to have been lost for those having their eyes on further twists and turns in the case.

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Aircel-Maxis deal: Will ‘arbitration  relief’ throw spanner in CBI’s works?

High-profile accused languishing in jail even after charges were framed