New Delhi:
Kanimozhi's request for bail has been opposed in the Supreme Court by the CBI, which has accused her of accepting a Rs. 214-crore kickback from the 2G telecom scam which has pummeled the government. The two judges who had admitted her application for bail have however recused themselves. Kanimozhi's case will now be heard by Justice G S Singhvi, who is monitoring the CBI's investigation into the telecom scam.
The Supreme Court is on its summer break. However, Justice Singhvi will be present on Monday to decide Kanimozhi's bail.
The MP, whose father M Karunanidhi heads the DMK, was arrested in May in Delhi. She's been in Tihar Jail since then along with fellow DMK leader A Raja. While he was Telecom Minister in 2008, Mr Raja allegedly sold mobile network licenses and spectrum at mammoth discounts to companies that have now been accused of colluding with him.
Kanimozhi's plea for bail is being heard by the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court rejected it earlier this month on the grounds that her "political clout" could influence the inquiry against her.
The evidence against Kanimozhi rests largely around a cheque for Rs. 214-crores which was allegedly routed through a maze of companies to rest with a TV channel in Chennai that's co-owned by her. That money is described by the CBI as a kickback for Mr Raja from a grateful telecom company.
Kanimozhi has denied the charges against her. Her father's alliance with the Congress has been severely tested by her arrest. So far, Mr Karunanidhi has said he blames the CBI and not the Congress for what he describes as the unfair treatment for his daughter.
The DMK has six union ministers and 18 Lok Sabha MPs, making it a heavyweight in the UPA coalition at the Centre which is headed by the Congress.
When Kanimozhi applied for bail in the Supreme Court on June 13, Justices P Sathasivam and A K
Patnaik heard her case. They asked the CBI to explain where the alleged 214-crore kickback is. Has the money been recovered, they asked. Today, they said Justice Singhvi should hear her case because his court is monitoring the entire investigation of the 2G scam.