CBI court grants bail to Raja, Kanimozhi, eight others in 2G case

A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Delhi on Wednesday granted bail to DMK supremo M Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal, his daughter, DMK MP Kanimozhi, former telecom minister A Raja, and seven others, charged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a 2G scam-related money laundering case.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini allowed the bail plea of 83-year-old Ammal on a personal bond of Rs5 lakh with two sureties of the like amount.

The court, however, dismissed the plea of Ammal seeking discharge in the case on the ground that she was not well and was suffering from "unsoundness of mind".

Among those granted bail were Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, with the court observing that there was ''no likelihood'' of them committing such acts again; and also that their explanation about the Rs200 crore involved was not ''far-fetched'' and had some credibility.

The ED has charged 19 accused - 10 individuals and nine firms - in the case saying that the transaction of Rs 200 crore, which was allegedly paid to DMK-run Kalaignar TV, was "not genuine" and it was a "bribe for grant of telecom licences to DB Group companies".

Ammal was holding a 60-per cent stake in Kalaignar TV while Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar held 20-per cent stake each at the time of allegedly irregular allocation of spectrum around 2008.

Besides Raja and Kanimozhi, ED had named Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar, Bollywood producer Karim Morani, Ammal and P Amirtham as accused in the case.

The ED has also named Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd, Kusegaon Realty Pvt Ltd (formerly known as Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd), Cineyug Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd (formerly known as Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd), Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd, Dynamix Realty, Eversmile Construction Company Pvt Ltd, Conwood Constructions and Developers (P) Ltd, DB Realty Ltd and Nihar Constructions Pvt Ltd as accused.

Raja, Kanimozhi, Shahid Balwa, Vinod Goenka, Asif Balwa, Rajiv Agarwal, Karim Morani and Sharad Kumar are also facing trial in the main 2G spectrum allocation case in which the CBI had earlier filed charge-sheets.