Politics
DMK MP Kanimozhi released from Tihar
Nov 29th
DMK MP Kanimozhi on Tuesday walked free out of Tihar Jail after spending 193 days following her arrest in 2G spectrum allocation case and repeated denial of bail that had ignited a debate over bail jurisprudence in the country.
While a huge media contingent waited outside country’s largest prison to capture the moments of her coming out, 43-year old Ms. Kanimozhi was whisked away in a convoy of cars from a gate which was out of the media’s view.
Besides Ms. Kanimozhi, those released from the prison on Tuesday included Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar, Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, Bollywood filmmaker Karim Morani and Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd directors Rajiv Aggarwal and Asif Balwa.
The daughter of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who was arrested on May 20, was granted bail on Monday by the Delhi High Court following the Supreme Court’s order in the case of five other accused last week.
She had to spend one night extra in prison as orders for her release from Tihar was issued by the special CBI court on Tuesday evening.
Wearing a pink salwar suit, Ms. Kanimozhi drove straight to her residence along with her husband Aravindan and more than a dozen DMK MPs have reached there to receive her.
DMK parliamentary party leader T.R. Baalu gave her a bouquet as she got out of the car at her residence in Central Delhi after a 40-minute drive from the prison.
“Kanimozhi was released at 7.30 p.m. and all the other four left in one car,” Tihar Prison spokesperson Sunil Gupta said.
Source: The Hindu
2G case: Kanimozhi and four others get bail
Nov 28th
New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Monday granted bail to DMK MP Kanimozhi and four other accused in the 2G spectrum allocation case. The order on the bail plea of former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura was reserved.
Allowing bail to Kanimozhi and the other four, Justice V.K. Shali said all the five bail ‘applications are allowed’ as ‘there is no chance of their fleeing from the process of law’.
Besides Kanimozhi, bail was granted to Kalaignar TV chief Sharad Kumar, Cineyug Films’ Karim Morani, and Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt. Ltd. directors Asif Balwa and Rajeev B. Agarwal.
Justice Shali said: ‘I allow bail application of all five accused persons. However, they are being directed to be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs.5 lakh each with two sureties for the like amount to the satisfaction of the special court.’
Conditions set by the Supreme Court while granting bail to five co-accused and telecom companies’ officials last week will also apply in the case of Kanimozhi and the other four, the high court said.
Justice Shali said: ‘If the accused persons directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts or the case so as to dissuade him to disclose facts, the CBI would have liberty to seek appropriate recalling of the order passed by this court.’
The court directed all the accused to surrender their passports and said ‘they must appear whenever they are called’ before the court.
‘Almost all the accused persons have roots in the society, though living in different parts of the country with varied interest, therefore, there is no chance of their fleeing from the process of law,’ said Justice Shali.
The court said that in any case ‘their movements can be regulated by imposing conditions set by the Supreme Court’.
‘Most of the evidence against the petitioners is documentary evidence and there is in my view be no prima facie evidence or likelihood which may persuade the court to doubt that the petitioners have reason to believe that they may create conditions which may not be conducive to hold free and fair trial,’ said Justice Shali.
On May 20, Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar were named co-accused and sent to judicial custody. Ten days later Morani also joined them in jail.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) earlier opposed Behura’s bail, saying that he, along with former telecom minister A. Raja and his former private secretary R.K. Chandolia, was involved in the conspiracy for grant of telecom licences.
The probe agency did not oppose the bail applications of Kanimozhi and the other four.
Behura, Kanimozhi and four others moved the court Nov 23 for early hearing of their bail applications after the apex court granted bail to five corporate executives co-accused in the case — Sanjay Chandra of Unitech Wireless, Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom and Reliance Group’s Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair.
The apex court ordered the release of the five co-accused, in custody since April, on a surety of Rs.5 lakh each but also allowed the CBI to seek a review if the bail was misused.
Now, only four individuals, of the 14 arrested by the CBI in the case, remain behind bars. These are Raja, Behura, Chandolia and Swan Telecom’s Shahid Usman Balwa.
Bail applications of Chandolia and Shahid Usman Balwa would be taken up by CBI Special Court Judge O.P. Saini Wednesday.
Raja has still not applied for bail since his arrest Feb 2.
Raja, a DMK MP, resigned as minister Nov 14 last year after the Comptroller and Auditor General reported that the faulty auction process in the allocation of second-generation telephony had led to a notional loss of Rs.1.76 lakh crore.
Source: Yahoo News
2G: Delhi HC to hear Kanimozhi’s bail plea today
Nov 24th
New Delhi: A day after bail was granted to five corporate executives, the Delhi High court is likely to hear the bail plea of DMK MP and 2G scam accused Kanimozhi on Thursday. Kanimozhi has sought an early listing of the matter.
Kanimozhi’s application cites Wednesday’s ruling of the Supreme Court, that granted bail to 5 corporate executives, also accused in the 2g Spectrum scam.
Kanimozhi has argued that keeping her in jail any longer is a violation of her fundamental rights.
Kanimozhi and former telecom minister A Raja, who celebrated Diwali behind bars this year, has not been granted bail so far. Kanimozhi, in particular, has been seen in tears on many occasions after the court denied her bail.
Last time, the court rejected her bail plea, saying that the “crime committed was a deliberate offence, an economic offence and very serious in nature.”
Wednesday’s decision was the first time that any of the accused in the 2G scam was granted bail and this can be a precedent by the lower court, say experts.
Sanjay Hedge, a Supreme Court lawyer, said that the bail order would definitely impact the cases of other accused.
“You will recollect that there were some accused against which the prosecution did not even oppose the bail. And they continue to remain in jail. In such cases, it is pretty certain that the courts would consider the facts that other accused have got bail,” he said.
However, he said that some of the accused “who are central to the controversy may not get the benefit”. But largely the corporate people who are on the periphery of the scam, would benefit from the order, he said.
DMK leader TR Baalu said, “Let us wait for the first petition already being moved, may be HC hearing it on Thursday. We have got very good hope now. We all are hopeful.”
Kanimozhi has been lodged in Tihar Jail since May 20 and the trial court had recently denied bail to her, despite the CBI not opposing her bail plea.
Kanimozhi’s last statement before she was sent to judicial custody in the 2G scam on the May 20, 2011 was “I am not a soft target”
Since then her focus has been getting bail but the courts did not entertain her bail plea till charges were framed. That meant that she had to spend the last five months including a Diwali in prison.
Source : http://ibnlive.in.com/news/2g-delhi-hc-to-hear-kanimozhis-bail-plea-today/205190-37-64.html
2G spectrum scam trial begins at Delhi court
Nov 11th
New Delhi: Trial has begun in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, involving high-profile accused like former Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi, top corporate honchos and telecom firms. All eyes are on Patiala House, where the special CBI court is hearing the case.
Some numbers first. It has been billed as the biggest scam in the country’s history – the loss to the national exchequer has been pegged by the government’s auditor at a mind-numbing Rs. 1.76 lakh crore. There are 17 accused in the dock, 14 of these individuals and three telecom companies. Trial is beginning seven months after the first chargesheet was filed; the case, being monitored by the Supreme Court, has been fast-tracked and the special CBI court has been hearing it on a day-to-day basis.
The CBI has produced a list of over 150 witnesses it wants to examine, among them former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and Attorney General G E Vahanvati. The investigating agency has said it first wants to examine 28 witnesses in November, including senior employees of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) and Etisalat D B, formerly known as Swan Telecom. The agency is expected to question witnesses on the shareholding patterns of the companies as well as matters like bank account details, minutes of crucial meetings and decisions made.
Today, on the first day of the trial, three prosecution witnesses are expected to be examined – A N Sethuraman, Group President, Reliance ADAG, Anand Subramanium, Assistant Vice President, Reliance Capital Limited and
Vinod Kumar Buddhiraja, Chief Regulatory Officer, Etisalat D B (formerly Swan Telecom).
Spotlight on Raja, Kanimozhi
All the 14 individuals charged in the case have now spent six months or more in jail. Court after court has turned down bail pleas. Mr Raja has been in jail since February. Telecom executives like Sanjay Chandra of Unitech Wireless and Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara of Reliance Telecom were imprisoned in April. Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, who is the daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, was arrested in May.
They will stand trial for criminal breach of trust – a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A Delhi court headed by Judge OP Saini had on October 22 accepted all the charges levelled by the CBI against the 14 individuals and three companies – Reliance Telecom, Unitech Wireless and Swan Telecom – listed as principal players in the 2G scam. The CBI’s charges against them range from criminal conspiracy to forgery and cheating.
But the most serious charges in the case, controversially introduced by the CBI just a few weeks ago, are criminal breach of trust by a public servant for Mr Raja and Siddharth Behura, who was Telecom Secretary, and criminal conspiracy to cause criminal breach of trust by a public servant for the 12 others. The maximum sentence for these charges is life imprisonment.
As the trial begins, the spotlight will remain relentlessly on Mr Raja and Kanimozhi, the daughter of heavyweight Southern politician M Karunanidhi who heads the DMK, a major partner in the UPA coalition at the Centre. The arrest of his favourite child has tested the collaboration between the Congress and his party, though both sides have on record reiterated that their partnership is steady.
Expressing concern over the continued incarceration of his daughter Kanimozhi, Mr Karunanidhi yesterday said if courts “hesitated” to provide legal rights, it could cast a question mark on the country’s democracy. “If courts, one of the pillars of Indian democracy, hesitated to provide legal rights and protect the basics of the law, a question will rise in everybody’s mind where Indian democracy is going and about its future,” he wrote in his party’s mouthpiece Murasoli.
The 2G scam
Because the charges are framed now, the 14 people accused may have a better shot at leaving jail. All of them except Mr Raja have already applied for bail. The CBI, which had opposed two petitions by Ms Kanimozhi for bail in the past few months, did not fight her latest request. However, that was turned down by special judge OP Saini on November 3. The Rajya Sabha MP has now appealed against that verdict in the Delhi High Court. That plea is likely to be heard on December 1.
Apart from A Raja and Kanimozhi, the other 12 individuals accused in the case are former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura; former personal secretary to A Raja RK Chandolia; Group MD, Reliance- ADAG, Gautam Doshi; Senior Vice President, Reliance- ADAG, Surendra Pipara; Senior Vice President, Reliance- ADAG, Hari Nair; Former MD, Unitech Wireless Sanjay Chandra; Promoter of DB Realty and Swan Telecom Shahid Balwa, Promoter and MD, DB Realty and Swan Telecom Vinod Goenka; MD, Kalaignar TV Sharath Kumar; Director, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Rajeev Agarwal; Director, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Asif Balwa and the Promoter of Cineyug Films Karim Morani. The three companies standing trial are Reliance Telecommunication, Unitech Wireless Pvt Ltd (Tamil Nadu) and Swan Telecom.
The telecom scam was webbed, according to the CBI, in 2008 by Mr Raja when he was Telecom Minister. He ignored advice, including from the Prime Minister, to auction second-generation or 2G spectrum. Instead, he allotted licences and accompanying second-generation or 2G spectrum on a first-come-first-serve basis that were twisted to help companies Mr Raja allegedly conspired with. The minister set a deadline for filing applications in September 2008; in January 2010, he made a last-minute announcement that licences would be given to those who filed their “Letters of Intent” first. The deadline for filing these documents and cheques was within hours of Mr Raja’s revision of rules. A few companies like Swan and Unitech were ready with their cheques – the CBI believes they had been tipped off by the minister. And amid a fair amount of chaos, 122 licences were issued to nine companies at a cost of Rs. 1600 crores each.
Swan Telecom allegedly repaid Mr Raja with a 214-crore cheque routed through a maze of companies to Kalaignar TV, a local channel in Chennai. Kanimozhi and her stepmother own 80 per cent of the channel. Kanimozhi’s lawyers have said the money was a loan which was returned with interest, and that she was not involved with the daily management of the company. The CBI has contested this, describing her as “the active brain” behind Kalaignar. The agency has said it has uncovered the money trail for this bribe.
Mr Raja, like the others accused, has rejected all charges against him. In his defence, he said that the Prime Minister, and P Chidambaram who was Finance Minister at the time, were kept informed of his plan of action. If they disagreed with his guidelines, he has challenged, they could have over-ruled him. He has also threatened to call the PM as a witness.
The CBI’s case
The telecom scam hurtled the government into crisis mode, when the government’s auditor declared the scam had cost India Rs. 1.76 lakh crores, forcing a reluctant Mr Raja to resign as Telecom Minister. The CBI has said it believes the losses are in the range of Rs. 30,000 crores. The government’s regulator for telecom policy – TRAI – has said it does not believe there were any losses since it does not believe spectrum should have been auctioned.
Many of the CBI’s heftiest accusations have been contested by the government. For example, the CBI says the three Reliance executives in jail – Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair- set up Swan Telecom as a front for their company to collect more spectrum and licences than were legally permissible. But the Law Ministry has said that after examining the details, Swan cannot technically be considered “an associate” of Reliance.
The CBI alleges both Swan and Unitech Wireless made huge profits by buying their 2G licences cheaply and then selling stake to foreign partners at huge profits. Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has said that the transactions were legal because “what occurred was dilution of equity and not the sale of equity.”
Like Mr Sibal, who infamously declared in January this year that the telecom scam had not caused any losses to the national exchequer, the government’s regulatory body for telecom- TRAI – has undermined the CBI by stating that it does not believe spectrum should have been auctioned. Any losses calculated, TRAI insists, are prone to error because they are based on presumptive market conditions and prices.
The CBI has also said in court that it has not found any evidence of a kickback from Mr Chandra’s Unitech Wireless to Mr Raja.
Political ramifications
The 2G trial commences at a time when the country is in the mood to hold politicians accountable for the rot that has been backlit by a series of swindles. The net worth of the 2G scam allows it to grab top spot on that list. The anti-corruption movement headed by Gandhian Anna Hazare delivered such massive crowds that the Opposition has quickly scrambled to appropriate the agenda, with LK Advani of the BJP launching a rath yatra to promote “clean governance.”
Mr Raja’s repeated references to the Prime Minister and P Chidambaram have echoed within all Opposition parties who say the PM must take accountability for allowing the telecom scam to play out. A document from the Finance Ministry, prepared this year, caused a political seizure – it said Mr Chidambaram could have enforced an auction of spectrum when he was Finance Minister and Mr Raja was busy mapping out a crooked policy.
The excavation of that document by a Right to Information activist allowed the Opposition to demand with more surety the resignation of Mr Chidambaram, who is now Home Minister. A week after the document was presented in the Supreme Court, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee clarified it was prepared with inputs from different ministries, and that he did not agree with all of its inferences. Various petitioners like Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy have said the Supreme Court should order the CBI to investigate Mr Chidambaram’s role. Though the CBI has said this is not needed, the Supreme Court has yet to indicate its stand.
Jaya hands out laptops, cattle to voters
Sep 24th
Tiruvallur: With the local body polls in early October, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has gone all out to reach out to rural voters with the freebies she promised during the assembly polls.
Violet, a Class XII Student from Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, is a proud owner of a brand new laptop. She’s among 119 students from two schools in the district to take home a laptop.
“I had access to computer only at my school. Now I can use it anytime I want and it’ll help me in my studies and score better in exams,” said Violet.
Daily-wage agricultural labourer N Devaki,65, received a cow as a gift which she says will bring her a regular income to support her at her age. Around 82 others were given cows and goats by the government.
N Devaki said, “I don’t have any regular income. I work in farms for daily wages, my son’s gone away and lives separately. Now I have only this cow to support me.”
Latha Ganesan and 474 other homemakers, meanwhile, will take home a mixer, grinder and a fan each.
Jayalalithaa’s government will spend more than Rs 2000 crore on these freebies – but the Chief Minister has an answer to those who question such spending.
“Such schemes meant for the betterment of the economically poor so that everyone can enjoy equal benefits and to improve their economic conditions and quality of life are being dubbed by many as freebies. No one with any knowledge of economics will speak like this” said Jayalalithaa.
Freebies including mixers, grinder, fans, laptops and cattle worth over Rs 73 lakh were distributes on Friday to the beneficiaries.
While such measures are being criticised by many, the Chief Minister continues to defend them saying they are welfare measures aimed at improving the standard of living of the economically poor.
Source : http://ibnlive.in.com/news/jaya-hands-out-laptops-cattle-to-voters/184576-62-128.html
Lokpal Bill to be introduced in Lok Sabha tomorrow
Aug 5th
The much talked about Lokpal Bill to be introduced in Lok Sabha on Thursday, says Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal.
Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy today gave a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to waive the two-day period so that the Lokpal bill could be introduced tomorrow.
“Our paperwork is complete. We have written to the Speaker and it is up to her to take a decision,” Narayanasamy told PTI.
Bansal told reporters separately that said since all parties favour introduction of the bill at the earliest, Narayanasamy wrote to the Speaker.
The Speaker can waive the two-day period which is required to distribute copies of any new bill to political parties so that they come prepared during the introduction.
On the eve of the Monsoon session, Bansal had said the bill would be introduced by August 3 and referred to the Standing Committee “forthwith”.
Government hopes that if the Standing Committee comes out with its recommendations on the bill by August-end, then the government could go ahead with its passage.
The Lokpal Bill seeks to keep the office of the Prime Minister outside the purview of the ombudsman during his term in office and also exclude higher judiciary and conduct of MPs inside Parliament. The bill gives permission to Lokpal to probe any Union minister or officials of Group ‘A’ and above rank without any sanction.
The Lokpal, consisting of Chairperson and eight members, half of them judicial, will have its own prosecution and investigation wing with officers and staff necessary to carry out its functions.
DMK Stalin arrested
Jul 30th
M.K. Stalin arrested for resisting the arrest of DMK Tiruvarur District secretary, Poondi Kalaivanan, in Tiruvarur district.
Mr. Kalaivanan was wanted in connection with a case of forcing students to boycott schools demanding implementation of Samacheer Kalvi (Uniform System of School Education). Police say Stalin will be freed later, and charges will not be pressed in this particular case.
Source: The Hindu
Manmohan, Chidambaram aware of dilution of shares by Swan, Unitech: Raja
Jul 26th
The former Telecom Minister, A. Raja, told a special CBI court here on Monday that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, were aware of the dilution of equity through the foreign direct investment (FDI) route by two companies that were awarded 2G spectrum.
Commencing arguments on the charges levelled against him, Mr. Raja said he had worked in the “public interest” to provide mobile services at cheap rates and was only following the telecom policies established since 2001. He claimed that Mr. Chidambaram, when he was Finance Minister, informed the Prime Minister about foreign companies buying stakes in the two firms. The decision to award 2G licences at entry fees fixed in 2001, instead of going in for an auction was a Cabinet decision, he alleged.
“Etisalat buying a stake in Swan Telecom and Telenor buying a stake in Unitech Wireless was cleared by the Finance Minister in the presence of the Prime Minister. Otherwise, let the Prime Minister deny it,” said Sushil Kumar, counsel for Mr. Raja.
Mr. Kumar said Mr. Chidambaram told the Prime Minister that the “dilution of shares” by the now accused licensees to attract FDI was not illegal and did not amount to “sale of licence,” so Mr. Raja could not be accused of corruption in the spectrum allocation.
On why the pan-India entry fee for 2G licences was not revised from Rs.1,659 crore fixed in 2001, Mr. Raja pointed out that the former Telecom Minister, Arun Shourie, and his successor Dayanidhi Maran had awarded 2G licences at these same rates without going in for an auction. “I have implemented only what I have inherited,” he said. The Cabinet had decided to auction 3G licences while placing no such “obligation” on him to auction 2G licences.
Launching a spirited defence of himself and his fellow accused, Mr. Raja explained the government’s policy to offer tele-services at low rates. “I have done the act in public interest to make mobile services cheap.”
When the court resumed proceedings after lunch, Mr. Kumar took exception to the reporting by news channels that his client had blamed Dr. Singh and Mr. Chidambaram. “I am not shifting the blame to the Prime Minister or the former Finance Minister. I am only defending my conduct in court.”
Mr. Kumar alleged that the CBI was making selective allegations against some persons while leaving out others. He asked why the CBI was not accusing other 2G licensees who sold stakes to foreign players, and other bureaucrats who were in the Telecom Ministry when controversial decisions were taken.
On the charge of criminal conspiracy, Mr. Kumar wondered how Mr. Raja could conspire with Shahid Balwa of Swan Telecom and Sanjay Chandra of Unitech Wireless when the two were “competitors” for spectrum in the same circles.
Counsel also took exception to the court insisting on beginning arguments on charge without completing investigations into the scam. Mr. Raja completed arguments on the criminal conspiracy and cheating charges against him. He is expected to begin arguments on the charges of “forgery” (Section 468 of the IPC) on Tuesday.
Source : http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2292316.ece?homepage=true
