Kanimozhi refused bail, will stay in jail

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, June 20 (ND TV) :  Kanimozhi will stay in Tihar Jail for now. The Supreme Court today refused to grant bail to the young MP who was arrested on May 20. However, she has been given the right to go back to the special court that’s trying the telecom scam, which she has been linked to, and apply for bail under a provision that allows for "leniency for women."

Justice GS Singhvi of the Supreme Court held a special hearing - the Supreme Court is currently on its summer break - to decide the matter. Two judges on Friday recused themselves from the case on the grounds that Justice Singhvi is monitoring the CBI’s investigation into the 2G telecom scam, and therefore, it’s appropriate for him to decide on Kanimozhi’s bail.

The CBI has placed serious charges against Kanimozhi - it says she conspired with fellow DMK leader A Raja to accept a kickback worth 214 crores in the telecom scam.  Mr Raja was arrested in February for masterminding the scam.  He stands accused of selling mobile network licenses and spectrum at a pittance in 2008 to companies that he colluded with.  One of those companies- Swan - allegedly repaid him by routing a 214-crore cheque through a series of companies.  The money was deposited with a TV channel in Chennai co-owned by Kanimozhi.

Two courts- a special court set up to try the 2G scam and the Delhi High Court-  have rejected bail for Kanimozhi in the last few weeks.  The High Court cited her "political clout" and expressed concerns that she may be able to influence witnesses if she is freed.  

Her lawyers have argued that Kanimozhi was not an active decision-maker in the financial and other affairs of Kalaignar TV -a  stand the CBI has opposed.  Kanimozhi’s lawyers argued that she should get bail because she is a woman, and because she needs to look after her young son because her husband works abroad.

The 2G scam  -reported to be India’s largest-ever swindle and price-tagged at 1.76 lakh crores by the government’s auditor - has seriously undermined the government’s credibility and its claims that it is working hard to check corruption.  Since September last year, a series of scams have proved that politicians, bureaucrats and often industrialists conspired to rook India with rough-hewn financial conspiracies.

The spotlight on Kanimozhi has also cast a long shadow over the alliance between the Congress and her father, M Karunanidhi, who heads the DMK.

 
The DMK has six Union ministers and 18 Lok Sabha MPs, making it a heavyweight in the UPA coalition at the Centre which is headed by the Congress.