Citing “paucity of time,” the CBI special court, hearing the 2G spectrum case, on Saturday reserved its order for May 20 on DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi's daughter and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi's application, offering to execute a bail bond to ensure her presence in court and avoid being sent to judicial custody. Eleven other accused in the case are now in judicial custody in the Tihar Central Jail.
Special Judge O.P. Saini is also slated to pronounce the order on Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar's bail plea on the same day. “Order on the bail applications, filed by accused Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, is not ready due to paucity of time. Put up the bail application for the order on May 20,” Mr. Saini said.
The judge, however, told the two accused stakeholders of Kalaignar TV to attend court proceedings on each date of the hearing. Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani appeared for Ms. Kanimozhi on May 6 and invoked her gender, motherhood and clean record while seeking her enlargement on bail.
Mr. Saini also directed all the accused to expedite the time-consuming process of scrutiny of documents, which began on April 13 after the CBI filed the main charge sheet along with seven trunk-loads of documents related to the case on April 2.
Cineyug Films promoter Karim Morani, another accused in the case, sought exemption from personal appearance on health grounds on Saturday too. His bail plea, citing medical grounds, will be heard on May 18.
Meanwhile, Mr. Saini also dismissed an application moved by a private petitioner, M. Purushothaman, demanding that Ms. Kanimozhi's bail application be referred to the High Court or the Supreme Court.
“When an accused appears or is brought before the court and a bail application is moved by him/her, the same has to be disposed of as per provisions of the Cr.PC, which deals with the provisions as to bail and bonds. The submissions, as such, are contrary to the law. The application is without merit and the same is dismissed,” the judge said.
Mr. Purushotham told the court that if an elected representative was detained or prevented from discharging the Constitutional duty it would affect citizens' rights.
When asked by journalists to comment on the election verdict in Tamil Nadu, Ms. Kanimozhi, who was accompanied by her husband G. Aravindan, her mother Rajathi Ammal and DMK leader T.R. Baalu in the court, declined to do so.
