Cash-for-vote scam: Amar, Kulkarni failed to appear in court

New Delhi, Sep 6 (PTI) Former Samajwadi Party General
Secretary Amar Singh and BJP leader L K Advani's former aide
Sudheendra Kulkarni failed to personally appear before a
Delhi court on Tuesday in response to its summons for their
alleged role in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam.
While Singh and Kulkarni moved the court of Special Judge
Sangita Dhingra Sehgal seeking its permission for exemption
from personal appearance, former BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party)
MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Singh Bhagora appeared in
court for their alleged role in the 2008 scam and sought bail.
While Singh's counsel sought the Rajya Sabha (upper house
of Parliament) member's exemption from personal appearance
before the court on medical grounds, counsel for Kulkarni
sought the exemption on the ground that he was currently in
the US and even court summons had not been served on him.
The counsel for Singh sought exemption from appearance
before the court urging that his client has recently undergone
a kidney transplant and was suffering from various health
problems including kidney infection and high blood pressure.
As the counsel filed a formal application for exemption
for Singh from appearance, the court asked him to submit to it
all the medical papers related to Singh's medical condition.
"Kindly show me the paper (medical report) when kidney
transplant took place and what is his condition right now,"
the judge said.
At this, Singh's counsel sought two days to furnish all
the medical papers to the court, but the judge ordered him to
submit them on Tuesday itself.


The counsel for Kulkarni said, "Kulkarni is in the USA
and he will appear in court within two weeks".
The two former BJP MPs Kulaste and Bagora, however,
appeared before the court and filed their bail application.
The court slated their bail pleas for hearing along with
those of two other arrested accused, Sohail Hindustani and
Amar Singh's aide Sanjeev Saxena later today.
Taking cognisance of a Delhi Police charge sheet, which
indicted the six for their alleged roles in the 2008
cash-for-vote scam, the court had issued summons to Singh,
Kulkarni, Kulaste and Bhagora on August 25, asking them to
appear before it.
Hindustani and Saxena, who were lodged in jail following
their arrest earlier during the probe into the case, too had
been issued production warrant for their appearance in the
court.
The Crime Branch of Delhi Police, in its charge sheet,
had indicted all the six accused for their roles in the scam,
involving payment of bribes to some MPs to win their votes in
a trust motion for the Congress-led UPA government.
Regarding the role of Amar Singh, the police has alleged
he had "conspired" with Saxena and others to bribe the then
MPs, while Kulkarni played an "active role" during the trust
motion.
In its charge sheet, the police has claimed that during
the investigation "sufficient evidence" has come on record to
prove that on the morning of July 22, 2008, Amar Singh
"hatched a criminal conspiracy with Sanjeev Saxena to deliver
Rs one crore as illegal gratification."
Detailing the role played by Singh, the police said the
details of phone call records of accused Saxena revealed he
was in constant contact with Singh and added the vehicle used
for delivering the money to the BJP MPs was registered in the
name of a Delhi-based private company owned by Amar Singh.
The charge sheet described Kulkarni as the "mastermind"
of the scam and said he had remained in touch with all
"conspirators" and was present when the "illegal
gratification" was paid to the MPs.
The charge sheet accused Kulkarni of keeping the probe
agency in the dark about the whole episode despite having its
"full knowledge."
The police, in the charge sheet, had said Hindustani took
two BJP MPs Ashok Argal and Kulaste to Amar Singh's house to
strike a deal on the vote of confidence.
Amar Singh has been charged under the Prevention of
Corruption Act and section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the
IPC.