2G scam: Court defers bail pleas till framing of charges

A Delhi court Monday deferred the bail pleas of five accused in the 2G spectrum allocation case, including former telecom minister A Raja's private secretary RK Chandolia and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, till it pronounces order on framing of charges.

Special Judge OP Saini deferred till October 17 the bail pleas of three accused -- Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd directors Asif Balwa and Rajeev Aggarwal and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd director Karim Morani -- while the pleas of Chandolia and Balwa would come up on October 18.

Special Judge Saini deferred the hearing saying he would like to hear their bail pleas after framing of charges which he has tentatively slated for October 15.

"I will prefer if we take these bail applications on October 17," Saini told the counsel for the accused.

"I have given you a tentative date of October 15 for pronouncing order on charge but if you will not allow me to study or to read documents then the order would not come by 15 also," he said.

Earlier on October 1, hearings on the bail pleas of DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar, both co-accused in the case, were deferred till framing of charges in the case as the apex court, while dismissing their bail pleas on June 20, had said such applications could be taken up only after charges are framed in the case.

The CBI had also opposed their bail pleas on the ground that they could be entertained only after framing of charges.

Special Judge Saini deferred the hearing on bail pleas of 2G case accused saying that if he begins deciding their bail pleas at this juncture, he will not be able to decide on farming of charges in the case in time as he has to examine voluminous documents and materials.

"For such a long time I am trying to make you (counsel) understand that let the case proceed. Till now the order on charge must have been pronounced. But you are not letting me do that.

"If you will keep on moving applications in between and advancing arguments on them, when would I have the time to complete the order on charge," the judge said.  "Right now I do not have time to hear arguments on bail pleas. Otherwise, I will not be able to complete the order on farming of charges by October 15," the judge said.

CBI Prosecutor A K Singh too said that if the accused had not brought the issue of Law Ministry and TRAI report in between, the order on framing of charges would have been pronounced on September 15 itself.

Earlier, senior counsel Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Morani, sought to plead for bail to his client saying that his case was different from others due his health condition.

"My client's case is slightly different from other accused. I would like to have my case be treated separately. Primary ground is that I am seeking bail on my increasingly untenable medical condition," he said.

Luthra said the Supreme Court order that the bail pleas of the accused should be entertained only after framing of charges in trial court was not applicable to Morani.

"I do not want to get tagged with others. I am not linked to the Supreme Court order passed on Kanimozhi's bail plea. It was passed on Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar's bail and it was not applicable to Morani," he said.

The CBI prosecutor opposed Morani's bail plea saying the court would have free mind to consider it after framing charges in the case.

This led Luthra to ask court if he can seek interim bail for Morani for a week now to undergo some medical tests in a private hospital, but the court asked him to do so on October 17.

Morani has sought bail on medical grounds saying "stress and rigours" of jail might prove fatal for him due to his ailments. He said that Morani had also suffered from syncopal attacks (related to heart ailment) on two occasions in jail.