The Special CBI Court on Thursday acquitted former Telecom Minster A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi in the sensational 2G case. Reading out the verdict in a crowded court room at Delhi’s Patiala House Court complex, CBI judge OP Saini pronounced all the accused as not guilty. The judge said that the prosecution has failed to prove the charges against the accused.
Several senior members of the DMK senior leadership and the legal team were present at the court room. As the verdict was announced a little after 10.40am, leaders like Duraimurugan and TR Baalu were also present in the court to lend moral support to the accused DMK leaders. Kanimozhi’s husband was also present in the court.
In the 2000 page order, in which all accused have been acquitted of all charges.
Reacting to the judgment outside the court, Kanimozhi said, "Finally our innocence has been proved. I will not deliberately target anyone but there was a conspiracy and a lot of people had a hand in this. It wasn't very easy. You are being accused of something you haven't done and corruption charges are the worst. It means a lot for DMK because corruption has been used as a peg to slam our party."
Following the verdict, A Raja and Kanimozhi were welcomed with party flags and posters by party cadre who had travelled to Delhi for the judgment.
Meanwhile in Chennai, there were celebrations outside Stalin and Kanimozhi's residences. Party workers burst crackers and distributed sweets.
"It's a historic verdict. This case was initiated to destroy our party," DMK working president Stalin said outside his residence. "The court has clearly established that the DMK has done nothing wrong."
He also took a barb at the media, and said, "I request you with all humility, I hope you will take this judgment to the people with the same enthusiasm with which you covered the alleged scam."
More updates to follow.
The case dates back to 2007 and relates to allegations of irregularities in the allocation of licenses to 2G telecom spectrum. In 2010, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) blew the lid off the alleged 2G spectrum scam. In its report, tabled in Parliament, it estimated that the scam had led to a presumptive revenue loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, due to non-auctioning, to the exchequer.
The CAG held A Raja responsible for not following due process in the issuing of licenses and for favouring select companies over others. CBI’s chargesheet also named former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, and Raja’s then Private Secretary RK Chandolia. As quid pro quo for issuing a license to Swan Telecom, a bribe of Rs 200 crore was allegedly routed to DMK mouthpiece Kalaignar TV, revealed the CBI. They named DMK chief Karunanidhi’s daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi as a “co-conspirator” in the 2G spectrum case.
Among the businessmen on trial are Swan Telecom and DB Group promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Unitech Ltd Managing Director D Sanjay Chandra, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group executives Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair.
The other accused in the case are Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Kalaignar TV Director Sharad Kumar and Bollywood producer Karim Morani.