Cash-for-vote scam: Amar Singh, Sudheendra Kulkarni failed to appear in court

Former Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh and BJP leader L K Advani's former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni today failed to personally appear before a Delhi court in response to its summons for their alleged role in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam.

While Singh and Kulkarni moved the court of Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal seeking its permission for exemption from personal appearance, former BJP MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Singh Bhagora appeared in court for their alleged role in the 2008 scam and sought bail.

While Singh's counsel sought the Rajya Sabha member's exemption from personal appearance before the court on medical grounds, counsel for Kulkarni sought the exemption on the ground that he was currently in the US and even court summons had not been served on him.

The counsel for Singh sought exemption from appearance before the court urging that his client has recently undergone a kidney transplant and was suffering from various health problems including kidney infection and high blood pressure.

As the counsel filed a formal application for exemption for Singh from appearance, the court asked him to submit to it all the medical papers related to Singh's medical condition.

"Kindly show me the paper (medical report) when kidney transplant took place and what is his condition right now," the judge said.

At this, Singh's counsel sought two days to furnish all the medical papers to the court, but the judge ordered him to submit them by today itself.