2G case: Kanimozhi, four others get bail

The Delhi High Court on Monday granted bail to DMK MP Kanimozhi and four other accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam 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".

Conditions set by the Supreme Court while granting bail to five co-accused and telecom companies' officials will also apply in the case of Kanimozhi and the other four, the high court said.

Raja, Kanimozhi charged with criminal breach of trust

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.

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 November 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.

CAG backs initial figure of losses in 2G scam amounting to Rs 1.76 lakh crore

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.

Chandolia and Shahid Usman Balwa's bail application would be taken up by CBI Special Court Judge OP Saini Wednesday.

Raja has still not applied for bail since his arrest on February 2.

Raja, a DMK MP, resigned as minister on November 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.