Antiquated bail laws to blame, says ex-CBI chief

Joginder Singh, a former director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, says that the bail given to Satyam promoter B Ramalinga Raju by the Supreme Court on Friday was the result of having antiquated bail laws which are interpreted differently by lower courts and higher ones.

“We are dealing with antiquated laws… These bail laws under the Criminal Procedure Code or the Indian Penal Code were framed during British times and we are still following it. And the bail matter depends from court to court.”

Singh points out that the “lower courts did not find it conducive to give bail to Raju, but the Supreme Court found his grounds valid for the bail. One can’t comment upon or argue on the court’s decision.”

He also would not be surprised if Kanimozhi, an accused in the 2G scam, gets bail from the higher courts though the CBI Special Judge denied it to her on Thursday. “Now she will apply to higher courts and they may think differently.”

The Supreme Court granted Raju bail because the CBI has not been able to complete his trial by the stipulated time, among other reasons. So doesn’t this mean the CBI failed to do its job?

“There were thousands of papers to be examined. And Raju’s case involved multi-agency investigation. It’s not only the CBI, even RBI and stock exchanges were examining the papers. Enforcement Directorate, income tax and even the Directorate of Revenue were involved in the investigations. In such investigation, the delay is normal and expected.”