Delhi High Court today dismissed the bail plea of Kanimozhi after noting that the CBI investigations into the 2G spectrum scam had established her prima facie involvement in the conspiracy. The court also rejected the bail application of Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar,saying that Kanimozhi and he controlled the channel and they were,therefore,in a position to influence witnesses,especially employees. They have got strong political connections, Justice Ajit Bharihoke said. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi belongs to the same political party to which accused A Raja belongs and the said party is sharing power in the central government. Thus,considering the financial and political clout of the petitioners,a possibility cannot be ruled out that if the petitioners are freed at this stage,they would interfere with the investigation or try to influence the witnesses. Thus,at this stage,I do not deem it appropriate to admit the petitioners on bail, the judge said. The court noted that besides the fact that Kalaignar TV was owned by Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar along with Kanimozhis stepmother Dayalu Ammal,it was also a matter of record that Kanimozhi left Sun TV to promote Kalaignar only a month after Raja became communications and IT minister in May 2007. Raja had close associations with the petitioners and he helped their company to get registration with Information and Technology Department, said the court. The judge rejected the defence of Kanimozhi and Kumar that the Rs 200 crore received from DB Realty was in fact an innocuous inter-corporate financial transaction. He noted that the dubious transfer had taken place by a circuitous route,going through Kusegaon Fruits & Vegetables Pvt Ltd and Karim Moranis Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd. Justice Bharihoke also found it relevant that the reverse flow of money from Kalaignar TV to DB Realty began only after the scam came to the light,and CBI called Raja for questioning. Above facts and circumstances prima facie show the complicity of the petitioners in the conspiracy and their having received illegal gratification of Rs 200 crore in the account of the company controlled by them,namely Kalaignar TV, the court said. The methodology was adopted by the petitioners and co-accused with a view to conceal the trail of money in the matter of grant of UAS licences and spectrum that have caused a loss of about Rs 30,000 crore to the state exchequer. Present in the court were DMK leader T R Baalu and Kanimozhis mother Rajathi Ammal,who burst into tears as the judge pronounced the order. Baalu and other DMK supporters tried to console her,and then took her away. Also on Wednesday,the Delhi High Court issued a notice to CBI on the bail pleas of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Balwa,his brother Asif Balwa and aide Rajiv Agarwal. The trial court had on May 24 denied bail to Shahid Balwa,founder of DB Realty and Swan Telecom promoter,along with the directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd.
