The Delhi High Court today issued notice to the CBI on the bail pleas of DMK MP Ms Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV MD Mr Sharad Kumar in the 2G spectrum case.
“Issue notice to the CBI for May 30,” Mr Justice Ajit Bharihoke, who dismissed the bail pleas of five corporate honchos in the case on Monday, said.
The court also asked the probe agency to file a status report detailing the stage of investigation and the judicial proceedings in the case on the next date of hearing.
Ms Kanimozhi, the 43-year-old daughter of DMK supremo Mr M. Karunanidhi, and Mr Sharad Kumar had approached the High Court on Monday with their bail applications after the special CBI court ordered their “forthwith” arrest on May 20.
Rejecting their bail applications, the special court had said that the offence attributed to them was grave and the possibility of influencing the witnesses cannot be ruled out.
Ms Kanimozhi, who sought bail in the Special Court on ground of being a woman, had approached the High Court seeking relief citing the need to look after her school-going child who is devoid of the care of his father working abroad.
“The petitioner (Kanimozhi) is having a single school-going child to be taken care of. Her husband is employed abroad and the court should grant bail to her,” said the bail plea, filed by the daughter of the DMK patriarch through advocates Mr V.G. Pragasam, Mr S.J. Aristotle and Mr Sudarshan Rajan.
Ms Kanimozhi and Mr Kumar were named in the CBI charge sheet for allegedly receiving a kick back to tune of Rs 200 crore.
Both Ms Kanimozhi and MrKumar have 20 per cent stake each in Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd which received Rs 200 crore through a circuitous route. DMK chief’s wife Ms Dayalu Ammal owns the remaining 60 per cent stake in the channel.
In her bail plea, the DMK MP claimed she is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the case due to “the biased media reporting concocted on the basis of conjectures and surmises’’.
She said she had cooperated with the CBI in its investigation and also voluntarily complied with court’s summons.
She also referred to the special judge’s observation in the order that she had shown “extremely dignified conduct” in the court by appearing regularly and said she should be granted bail.
“She is a respectable person having roots in the society. Being a Member of Parliament and a law-abiding citizen, she will neither flee from justice nor will tamper with evidence nor interfere with the course of trial,” she added in her plea.
“As a Member of Parliament and whip of DMK party in the Rajya Sabha, she has to attend Parliament sessions and all party meetings convened from time to time in connection with parliamentary business”, she said.