2G scam: Cineyug Dir Morani denied anticipatory bail

2G scam: Cineyug Dir Morani denied anticipatory bail

A Delhi court on Monday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Cineyug Films Director Karim Morani, an accused in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini on Monday 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 on 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 RML hospital or 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.

CBI, 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 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 20^th May.

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 24^th December 2009, Rs 10 crore moved from Kusegaon Fruits to Cineyug to Kalaignar.

Likewise, Rs 100 crore reached KTV on 15^th July 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 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.