Click to play videoNew Delhi: DMK MP Kanimozhi and four others have been granted bail in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case. The Delhi High Court granted bail on Monday to five accused while directing them to furnish two sureties of Rs 5 lakh each and ordering them that they cannot leave the country.
Other than Kanimozhi the other accused who have been granted bail include Cineyug founder Karim Morani, Kalaignar TV's MD Sharath Kumar, Kusegaon directors Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal.
While ordering the release of the five accused Justice VK Shali of the High Court observed that they have been granted bail as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had not opposed their bail applications.
The court ordered that the bail bond will have to be taken to the trial court in Patiala House and the release order will be issued to Tihar Jail where the accused are lodged after furnishing of the bail bond.
However, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura has not been granted bail as his application was opposed by the CBI. Justice Shali reserved the order on Behura's bail application.
"Today all the five accused - Karim Morani, Sharath Kumar, Asif Balwa, Rajeev Agarwal and Kanimozhi - have been granted bail. We have just heard the operative part of the order. There was no concession for Siddharth Behura, but the bail for the rest of the five people was not opposed by the CBI," said Vijay Agarwal, lawyer of Asif Balwa.
The accused had approached the High Court after the Supreme Court granted bail to five corporate executives on November 23.
The CBI had not opposed the bail applications conceded bail of Kanimozhi and Morani in the trial court.
Kanimozhi has been in judicial custody in the 2G scam since May 20.
The Supreme Court had on November 23 granted bail to five corporate executives in the first set of bail granted in the mutli-crore telecom spectrum scam, which according to a Comptroller and Auditor General report caused a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the state exchequer.
The two-judge bench comprising justices GS Singhvi and HL Dattu ordered the release of the five corporate executives - Unitech's Managing Director Sanjay Chandra, Swan Telecom's Director Vinod Goenka as well Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) Managing Director Gautam Doshi, Reliance Communications Senior Vice-President Surendra Pipara and Reliance ADAG Senior Vice-President Hari Nair.
Former telecom minister A Raja and Kanimozhi along with 12 other people and three companies have been accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case. They have been charged under Indian Penal Code Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent).
The maximum punishment if convicted for criminal breach of trust is life term while the minimum punishment is seven years in prison.
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