Kanimozhi bail denial: Karunanidhi ‘shocked’,Sonia ‘anguished’

Sonia — unusually though — is learnt to have shared her mind on Kanimozhi’s continued stay in jail with some alliance leaders on Thursday. Sources said she felt getting bail was a person’s natural right. She was anguished,but appeared helpless since the matter was in the court and neither she nor the UPA government could do much. It is for the fourth time that various courts have turned down Kanimozhi’s bail pleas.

Significantly,denial of bail to Kanimozhi has spawned disquiet in the political fraternity cutting across party lines. Some leaders of the BJP,which has used the 2G scam as an effective political weapon to target the UPA,felt rejecting her bail was unjust. They would not publicly say so for political reasons.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani though spoke his mind. He called it a serious “miscarriage of justice”. In the past,senior leaders Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha have voiced concern over denial of bail to the 2G case accused. The Samajwadi Party and the Left — an ally of the AIADMK in the last Assembly elections — too felt she should be set free.

“I think some consideration should be given. The chargesheet has been filed and charges framed,so what is the problem in giving her bail. I do not know how the legal system works in such cases. It could be that questions may arise that others (rest of the accused) will also have to be similarly treated,” said CPI general secretary A B Bardhan.

SP spokesperson Mohan Singh said,“The government did what it could do. The CBI did not oppose the bail. There is nothing that we can say. But I feel it is sad. She should be given bail on humanitarian grounds.”

The Congress was cautious. “We will first have to study the judgment and then,if required,we will articulate any opinion. However,the flow of jurisprudence has been that bail and not jail should be the guiding principle,” Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said.

The DMK leadership chose not to comment wary of antagonising the courts. Senior leader and Karunanidhi’s son M K Stalin drove to Tihar jail to console his step-sister.