Delhi High Court rejects pleas in 2G case

The High Court said an amendment in the Act does not apply to the offences already taken place.

Delhi High Court. File

The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected pleas challenging the decision-making process behind the Centre’s approval to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to appeal against the acquittal of the accused in the 2G case.

 

Justice Brijesh Sethi, who will demit office on November 30, also released the appeals from his court for it to be listed before another Bench on December 1.

 

Justice Sethi rejected the pleas made by some of the individuals, who were acquitted in the case, seeking direction to the government to place on record the documents containing the process to be followed before taking a decision to file an appeal.

Leave to appeal

 

In October, the High Court commenced day-to-day hearing on the CBI’s ‘leave to appeal’ against the acquittal of all the individuals and firms in the case. Leave to appeal is a formal permission granted by a court to a party to challenge a decision in a higher court.

Acquitted in 2017

 

In December 2017, a Special CBI Court here had acquitted A. Raja, Kanimozhi and others in the CBI and Enforcement Directorate cases relating to the 2G spectrum case noting that the prosecution had “miserably failed” to prove the charges.

 

The Special CBI Court also acquitted 17 others, including the late DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal, Vinod Goenka, Asif Balwa, film producer Karim Morani, P. Amirtham and Sharad Kumar, director of Kalaignar TV, in the case registered by the ED.

 

Challenges acquittal

On March 19, 2018, the Enforcement Directorate approached the High Court challenging the special court’s order acquitting all the accused.

 

A day later, the CBI too challenged the acquittal of the accused in the case.