New Delhi: The Supreme Court is likely to hear on January 21 DMK leader Kanimozhi’s plea seeking the quashing of charges against her in the 2G case being exclusively heard by a special CBI court on day-to-day basis.
A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said the 2G bench comprising Justice H L Dattu and Justice K S Radhakrishnan is likely to sit on January 21 and may hear the matter.
Appearing for Kanimozhi, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the court that the plea for the quashing of charges is pending for quite some time while the trial in the matter is going on. He told the court that it has not been listed and they want it to be listed for an early hearing.
A bench of Justice G S Singhvi (since retired) and Justice Radhakrishnan had put on hold the hearing on the plea of Kanimozhi and others challenging the framing of charges saying that their fate would be decided only after it decides the challenge to its April 11, 2011 order barring the Delhi High Court from entertaining any plea against the orders of special CBI court hearing 2G cases.
The apex court by its September 3, 2012, order rejected the plea by five accused — corporate honchos Shahid Balwa, Vinod Goenka, Rajiv Agarwal and Asif Balwa and Ravinder Kumar Chandolia, a former aide of ex-telecom minister A Raja — challenging its April 11, 2011 order.
This order had said “...when large public interest is involved, it is the bounded duty of all, including the accused persons, who are presumed to be innocent, until proven guilty, to co-operate with the progress of trial” as “early disposal of the trial is also to their advantage, so that their innocence could be proved...”
“The nation and the people of this country are seriously concerned with the outcome of the cases involving larger public interest, like one concerning 2G and this court, as the guardian of the constitution, has got duty and obligation to see that larger public interest is preserved and protected,” the court said then.
Kanimozhi had moved the Apex Court July 24, 2012, for the quashing of charges framed against her by the special court holding trial in 2G scam cases and also the charge sheet by the CBI. The 2G special court had framed the charges on October 22, 2011.
She had contended that she was one of the directors of the Kalaignar TV for only a short period of two weeks — from June 6, 2007 to June 20, 2007 — and had nothing to do with the channel’s financial transactions.
IANS
