Balwa and Goenka fined for frivolous pleas

Corporate honchos Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, accused in 2G scam for filing "frivolous" pleas seeking to visit Mumbai for business purpose, have been fined by a New Delhi court.

The court said "government machinery cannot be made subservient to the money power of the accused to serve their business."

Balwa and Goenka had urged the court that they be allowed to visit Mumbai to attend the extraordinary general meeting of Etisalat DB, a joint venture firm of DB Realty group and UAE's Etisalat, on 15 June.

Dismissing their pleas special CBI judge O P Saini imposed a fine of Rs15,000, saying the "government machinery cannot be made subservient to the money power of the accused to serve their business."

The duo had also sought the court's permission to visit Mumbai to appear before the income tax authorities concerning a matter pertaining to Etisalat DB.

"The state machinery cannot be made subservient to the money power of the accused persons to serve their business interest as attending an extra ordinary general meeting (EGM) or appearing before income tax authorities pertain to their business work," the court said.

According to the judge, the accused could not claim that they be allowed to attend EGM of their company or to attend the office of any other authority in connection with their business, at a far away place, as the allegations against them were serious.

"This is all the more important in a case in which the app