Apex court to hear Maran's plea today

The Supreme Court will on Wednesday hear a plea by former Union telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran against a Madras High Court order cancelling his anticipatory bail and asking him to surrender before the CBI within three days.

Maran faces charges of running an illegal telephone exchange in his residence during his tenure as minister between 2004 and 2007.

A bench presided over by Justice T S Thakur agreed to hear the petition filed by the DMK leader, a day after the Madras High Court rejected his plea. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter seeking urgent hearing. He also sought stay of the order, contending that the high court did not consider all circumstances. 

No apprehension
In his plea, Maran submitted that the bail granted to an accused could be cancelled only when there was danger of the person absconding or influencing the witnesses. There was no such apprehension in the case, he claimed.

The Madras High Court cancelled Maran’s anticipatory bail while rejecting his claim that he is a victim of political vendetta.

The high court held that “prima facie” Maran had “misused” his office by obtaining telephone connections “illegally” and allegations against him were backed by material.