Special Public Prosecutor U.U. Lalit on Saturday opposed as “completely misconceived and untenable” the move by the 2G scam case accused, Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV managing director Sharad Kumar, under Section 88 of the Criminal Procedure Code wherein they offered to execute bail bonds to ensure their presence in court, instead of their moving regular bail applications.
Mr. Lalit also rejected in the CBI special court here counsel Ram Jethmalani's plea to enlarge Ms. Kanimozhi on bail, in consideration of her being a woman, under Section 437(1)(iii) of the Cr. PC. The “special status” provided under the Section for women did not apply to this case and “no case for bail has been made out.”
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On the concept of corporate criminal liability Mr. Jethmalani laid out, asking the CBI to prove that Ms. Kanimozhi “represented the directing will and mind of the company and controlled what the company did,” Mr. Lalit, CBI counsel, termed the argument “completely inapplicable.” For, Kalaignar TV as a corporate entity had not been named an accused.
“Shell companies”
Responding to the bail applications moved by Asif Balwa and Rajiv Aggarwal, Mr. Lalit alleged that Dynamix Realty, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables and Cineyug Films were “shell companies” of the DB Group and were involved in the Rs. 200-crore transaction only to “create a smokescreen.”
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He also dismissed the defence claim that Rs.200 crore was an unsecured loan to Kalaignar TV, which had only a turnover of nearly Rs.47 crore.
“I am yet to see any person lending four times the turnover, without demanding any collateral … On the face of it, these transactions are nothing but the spoils of crime getting transferred to Kalaignar TV as bribe money.”
Order on the regular bail applications moved by Mr. Balwa and Mr. Aggarwal has been reserved for May 10.