Former telecom minister A Raja, who has been in jail since February 2011, was Tuesday granted bail in the 2G spectrum allocation case but with the rider that he could neither visit the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) nor his home state Tamil Nadu.
Following are the key points of the verdict:
* I am of the opinion that further detention of the accused would not serve any purpose. There is neither any allegation nor material on record to suggest that if accused is enlarged on bail, he would flee from justice.
* An apprehension has been expressed by the prosecution that if enlarged on bail, the applicant/accused may influence the witness or tamper with the evidence. However the case is going on for more than a year and no such incident has been brought to my notice. Moreover, this apprehension of the prosecution can be addressed by imposing conditions and restrictions on the accused. Furthermore, almost entire evidence in the case is documentary in nature and the same is in the custody of the court.
* Considering the progress of the trial, period of custody of the accused and the fact that all other accused have been released on bail, I am of the opinion that further detention of the accused would not serve any purpose and for these reasons, I am inclined to admit the applicant (Raja) to bail on his furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs. 20 lakhs with two sureties in the like amount.
* The applicant (Raja) shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him to disclose such facts of the case so as to dissuade him to disclose such facts as may be necessary to the court or to any authority.
*Raja shall not visit Department of Telecommuniaction and state of Tamil Nadu without prior permission of this court.
* Raja shall remain present before this court on all dates fixed for hearing for the case. If he wants to remain absent, then he shall take prior permission of this court and in case of unavoidable circumstances, he shall immediately give intimation to this court that he may be permitted to present through his counsel, and in such an event, he will not dispute his identity as the accused in the case.
* Raja shall surrender his passport, if any, and in case he is not a holder of the same, he shall swear an affidavit.
* CBI will be at liberty to make an appropriate application for modification/recalling of the order passed by this court, if for any reason, the petitioner violates any of the conditions imposed by this court or creates any condition which is not conducive to the holding of a trial.
IANS
