2G, CWG: Bail hasn't made life easier for Kalmadi, Kanimozhi

Just in case Andimuthu Raja thinks the rest of the 2G scam and Commonwealth Games (CWG) accused are having a ball while he languishes in Tihar, he can rest easy. When it comes to fast-track courts, the high and mighty are not having it easy anymore. Suresh Kalmadi, prime accused in several CWG scams, has been trying to slow the cases down and seeking to skip his daily appearances in court, but the judge said a firm no. Sanjay Chandra of Unitech Wireless did not get lucky either. His plea to go abroad for his son’s treatment was denied. [caption id=“attachment_208760” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“When it comes to fast-track courts, the high and mighty are not having it easy anymore.”]  [/caption] Shahid Balwa and Karim Morani of DB Realty, accused in the Swan Telecom case, had better luck. They got to go to Goa for a short while when the court was on vacation during Christmas. But the Yuletide spirit ended fast. They now have to attend court trial proceedings every day. Ditto for DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi. Or the three Reliance executives – Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair. They have to spend half their days at the court of CBI Special Judge OP Saini at Delhi’s Patiala House. Like Kalmadi, they too seek exemptions from attending court, but seldom get it. Kanimozhi pleaded for exemption twice. Morani was given leave to travel abroad for treatment. Suresh Kalmadi, who spent nine months hobnobbing with Raja and others in Tihar, was out on bail on 18 January 2012. He went to his native place in Pune for a brief while, but is now back in Delhi to attend day-do-day hearings in the court of CBI Special Judge Talwant Singh at Tis Hazari Court. On 1 February 2012, regular hearings began in the Time Scoring Result (TSR) case where Kalmadi’s attendance is compulsory. Every day at 10 am sharp, he, like any other undertrial, is in the Tis Hazari compound. He spends most of the day there before going to his Delhi residence, only to return the next morning. Even camerapersons have stopped chasing him. Like a school kid, Kalmadi did try to take some time off from attending court. On 2 February, just a day after regular trial hearings started, he filed a plea seeking exemption for two days to visit Pune for a comprehensive medical check-up and to meet his family members. But Special Judge Talwant Singh said ‘no’. “The accused (Kalmadi) is undergoing treatment at two private hospitals in Delhi and Gurgaon and these hospitals are the best for heart ailment.’’ Besides, the judge said, the accused was given a chance to visit his granddaughter in Pune on 28 January, but he chose not to go. Kalmadi can go to his Pune home only during court holidays. He is also trying to buy time by filing requests for all the relevant papers relied upon by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in his case. But the court is in fast-track mode. Arguments have begun only in Rs 141 crore TSR scam and legal experts say charges are likely to be framed against Kalmadi by the last week of February and then the trial will begin. Kalmadi was accused of awarding the TSR project to a Swiss company much before the company applied for it. Two officials of the Commonwealth Organising Committee have given testimony against Kalmadi before a magistrate under Section 164 CrPC. The trial is expected to be over in six months. And Kalmadi could be back in jail, if found guilty. Once TSR is over, trials in other cases will begin. Kalmadi is accused of clearing a UK firm, AM Car and Van, and its sister concern, AM Films, for services during the Queen’s Baton Relay in London. In another case, he has been accused of favouritism, influencing and arbitrary allotment of CWG work and inflating the bills of companies assigned to provide “overlay” products, including toilet paper, treadmill machines, etc. Thus the ordeal for Kalmadi is endless, more so because he spends nearly 14 hours a day either in court or with his lawyers preparing his case strategy. Life in fast-track courts is no bed of roses for our alleged scamsters – except when the courts themselves are on holiday or vacation.