Kanimozhi stays in jail, Amar gets bail

Court reserves Kanimozhi bail plea order till Nov 3

No bail for Yeddyurappa as well BJP's first Chief Minister in the south, BS Yeddyurappa also prepared to spend a lonely Diwali behind bars with the Karnataka High Court adjourning his bail hearing on Monday on grounds that the arguments were inconclusive.

New Delhi, October 24
DMK MP Kanimozhi and six other accused in the 2G Spectrum allocation scam will have to stay behind bars on Diwali as a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here today reserved orders on their bail pleas till November 3.
However, as the CBI told the trial court that it did not have any objection to letting Kanimozhi out, the prospects of the Rajya Sabha MP getting bail next week have brightened.
Daughter of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo K Karunanidhi, Kanimozhi has been lodged in the Tihar Jail since May 20.
Arguing before Special CBI Judge OP Saini, the CBI also did not oppose the bail pleas of Sharmad Kumar (MD of Kalaignar TV), Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal (Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables) and Karim Morani (Bollywood producer).
The trial court will deliver its verdict on the bail pleas on November 3.
“Of course, bail should be granted to them subject to the discretion of the court” by imposing restrictions on them, if necessary, for ensuring their presence during the trial, Special Public Prosecutor UU Lalit said.
Balwa, Agarwal and Morani allegedly served as conduits for the investment of Rs 206 crore in Kalaignar TV by Shahid Balwa, promoter of Swan Telecom that reportedly benefited from the scam. Kanimozhi is a director of the television company, named after Karunanidhi, who is fondly called by his political followers as “Kalaignar”, a Tamil word meaning scholar.
However, the CBI opposed the bail pleas of Shahid Balwa and RK Chandolia, who was private secretary to A Raja, the then Telecom Minister who is the prime accused in the case. On October 22, the trial court framed charges against all 17 accused in the case.
Explaining the logic behind supporting the bail pleas of Kanimozhi and four others, the CBI said the gravity of their offence was less than that of Shahid Balwa and Chandolia. If convicted, Kanimozhi and the four faced a maximum punishment of five years, while the other two would be sentenced to a longer period, Lalit argued.
Arguing for Kanimozhi and Kumar, senior advocate Altaf Ahmed said the Supreme Court had clarified on June 22 that his clients would be free to seek bail afresh after the framing of charges.
The other accused have sought bail on various grounds — health, proposed marriage of daughters and the social stigma associated with being behind the bars for a long duration.