Essar Group promoter Anshuman Ruia, facing trial along with others in a case arising out of the 2G scam probe, has been denied permission to travel abroad with a special court rapping him for “wasting” its time by submitting “obscure” documents.
Special CBI Judge O P Saini dismissed Ruia’s plea in which he had sought permission to travel abroad from June 6 to June 30 for business purposes and certain family commitments.
The judge said that names of the countries, to be visited by the accused, were not mentioned in his application and “the court is left to grapple with the itinerary to find out the countries which would be visited by the accused.”
“I also find that documents attached with the application are also abstruse and obscure and it is very difficult to make any sense out of them,” the judge said, adding, “It is thus clear that the application has been filed just to waste the time of the court and not so much for seeking permission to travel abroad.”
Meanwhile, the court allowed the separate application of co-accused Vikash Saraf, Essar Group Director (Strategy and Planning), seeking its permission to travel to Dubai from June 15 to June 30 for his work there.
While allowing Saraf’s plea, the court noted the case was not listed for hearing during this period and his presence was not required before it.
However, it cautioned Saraf saying, “It is impressed upon the accused (Saraf) to be careful and vigilant while filing such applications, as filing applications full of howlers and bloomers leads not only to embarrassing situations in the court but also results into wastage of precious time of the court.”
Essar Group promoters Ravi Ruia and Anshuman Ruia, Loop Telecom promoters Kiran Khaitan, her husband I P Khaitan and Vikash Saraf are facing trial in the case along with three companies — Loop Telecom Ltd, Loop Mobile India Ltd and Essar Tele Holding Ltd (ETHL).
The five individual accused, who are out on bail, have denied the charges levelled against them by CBI.
