ID :
175174
Wed, 04/13/2011 - 13:29
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/175174
The shortlink copeid
2G scam: Corporate honchos appear in court, seek bail
New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI) Five corporate honchos, who
have been named in the charge sheet in the 2G spectrum case,
on Wednesday moved bail pleas in a Delhi court which asked the
CBI to file its replies.
"The CBI is granted time to file reply and put up the
matter for arguments on April 15," Special CBI Judge O P Saini
said.
Top corporate executives -- Swan Telecom Director
Vinod Goenka, Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd Managing
Director Sanjay Chandra, and three top officials of Reliance
ADA Group, Gautam Doshi, Surrendra Pipara and Hari Nair --
appeared before the special court for the first time and
sought bail on the ground that they were not arrested during
the investigation.
"The accused are entitled for relief on bail," senior
advocate Mukul Rohatagi, appearing for Vinod Goenka, said.
Similar pleas were advanced by lawyers for other corporate
honchos.
Senior advocate U U Lalit, who has been appointed as
Special Public Prosecutor by the Supreme Court, vehemently
opposed the applications, saying, "Accused are not entitled
for release on bail ipso facto (by default) on appearance
before the court. They will have to justify their bail pleas."
Citing legal provisions relating to the bail, Lalit
said, "The suspects have now become accused after the filing
of the charge sheet. Now it is between them and the court. The
accused will have to justify their release on bail."
Senior advocate K T S Tulsi, appearing for Unitech
Wireless MD Sanjay Chandra, said, "Can the prosecution
continue to change its stand? What is the change in
circumstances except the change in public prosecutor.
"The accused who have not been arrested during the
investigation are entitled to be released on bail on their
appearance before the court of law," Tulsi said.
After the brief arguments, Lalit sought time to file
replies to the bail applications of the accused. The plea was
allowed by the court which fixed the matter for further
hearing on April 15.
The CBI had filed its first charge sheet in the case
on April 2 against nine persons and three leading Telecom
companies --Reliance Telecom Ltd, Swan Telecom Ltd and Unitech
Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Pvt Ltd.
The five corporate executives who were not arrested in
the case, had been summoned by the special court, specifically
set up to try the 2G scam accused, to appear before it on
Wednesday.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja, former Telecom
Secretary Siddhartha Behura, Raja's personal secretary R K
Chandolia and Swan Telecom Promoter Shahid Usman Balwa were
arrested earlier during the probe into the case and are
lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody.
Special CBI Judge Saini has already taken cognisance
of the charge sheet running into 80,000 pages after it was
filed in his court on April 2.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's
premier investigation agency had filed the charge sheet
against them for allegedly committing offences of forgery and
cheating under the Indian Penal Code and for offences of
giving and accepting bribe and abusing official position under
the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI has indicted Raja for conspiring with top
bureaucrats, including a retired IAS officer, and corporate
honchos to cause a loss of Rs 30,984 crore to the exchequer in
allocation of the 2G spectrum.
The agency, in its first charge sheet, has alleged
that Behura, Chandolia, Balwa and Chandra entered into a
conspiracy for manipulating the procedure for allocation of
spectrum with the aim of favouring companies like Swan Telecom
and Unitech Group.
The CBI is likely to file its second charge sheet in
the case by April 25 and is to complete its probe by May 31.