2G scam: Cineyug Director Morani denied anticipatory bail

New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) An Indian court Monday
dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Cineyug Films Director
Karim Morani, an accused in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
Special CBI Judge, in the Delhi court, O P Saini
dismissed Morani's plea seeking anticipatory bail on health
grounds, saying his medical condition is "normal and stable".
The court has now directed Morani to appear before it
Tuesday.
"In view of the medical condition of the accused
(Morani) being normal and stable, I am satisfied that no case
for anticipatory bail on medical ground is made out. The
application is without merit and the same is dismissed," the
court said.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Morani
had submitted before the court that the medical condition of
Morani is not such that he should be placed under custody as
he may not be able to bear the stressful environment of being
placed in custody.
"I may also add that in case of need, proper medical
facilities are available in Tihar Jail itself and if an
undertrial/prisoner requires any further treatment, he is
immediately taken to Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital or All
India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), as per the
requirement of the situation...
"So proper medical facilities are available to all
prisoners in case of necessity and this ground cannot be
pressed now when as good facilities as are available outside
are available to an undertrial in the jail itself," the court
said.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's premier
investigation agency, in its second charge sheet in 2G case,
had alleged that Swan Telecom and Dynamix Realty Promoters
Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka channeled Rs 200 crore to
Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) family-run Kalaignar TV,
through Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd and Morani's
Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd.
DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar,
accused in the 2G scam, are already in judicial custody after
the court denied bail to them on May 20. Luthra, while pressing for Morani's bail, had said
that conspiracy was like a train and Morani was just like a
'chaiwala' (tea vendor) who hops on to the train and hops off
after carrying out his work without any idea of where the
train is going and has nothing to do with it.
Countering the submissions, Special public prosecutor
U U Lalit had said that these are not innocent transactions of
a 'chaiwala' who hops on to a train.
He had argued that Morani was handling the finances of
Cineyug when the "illegal gratification" of Rs 200 crore was
routed to Kalaignar TV through it.
Submitting that these were back-to-back transactions
which by no means were a commercial act on the part of
Cineyug, Lalit had said that on December 24, 2009, Rs 10 crore
moved from Kusegaon Fruits to Cineyug to Kalaignar. Likewise,
Rs 100 crore reached KTV on July 15, 2009.
Lalit had said that on merits, the man (Morani), who
was a conduit, is not entitled to anything.
Luthra had submitted a verification report of Morani's
medical records issued by the JJ Hospital in Mumbai, in the
western Indian state of Maharashtra, in pursuant to the
court's earlier direction.
The Department of Cardiology and Neurology of JJ
Hospital report stated that his vitals were normal and he was
advised to undergo follow-up checks as an outpatient.
The CBI had not opposed his plea on medical grounds
but refuted his arguments that the money moved by him into
Kalaignar TV was a purely commercial transaction and that he
did not know that the same was meant for nefarious designs.