Swamy puts up brave front, to take battle to HC

It was a verdict which turned the face of Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy's grim within seconds as a special court ruled Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had no role in 2G spectrum allocation scam.

Swamy, however, regained his usual composure minutes later and told the media that the Special CBI court's verdict would be challenged in the Delhi High Court.

Scores of Swamy's supporters egged him on to carry on the legal battle by raising slogans "Swamyji aap sangarsh karo hum aap ke saath hain."

Tension and excitement had been building up ahead of the verdict by Special Judge O P Saini right from early morning with a battery of media personnel, advocates and an anxious crowd gathering at the court premises eager to know the fate of Chidambaram.

At around 9.45 am when the Janata Party chief entered the Patiala House courts complex with wife Roxana when the pronouncement was deferred till 12.30 pm.
    
Thereafter, Judge Saini called Swamy and his wife inside the courtroom and at 1 PM he was joined by his two lawyers Tarun Gugumber and Prannath Mago.
    
The judge initially barred the media, lawyers and others from even peeping through the windows, let alone enter the court hall.
    
As the court room's doors opened at 1:30pm, the excitement and tension gave way to silence after Saini pronounced that Swamy's petition had been dismissed.

Dressed in his trademark spotless white kurta-pyjama and a saffron shawl thrown over his shoulders, Swamy stepped out of the court room collecting his order copy after Saini refrained from entertaining his clarifications.
    
Later to queries from media persons, Swamy, who argued the case on his own, said the "ruling was not what they had expected".
    
"I am surprised. If I lose in one court, I will appeal in another court. I don't know the reasons for the dismissal. Higher courts have also rejected my earlier petitions in 2G cases. I will give more evidence in higher courts.
    
"If CBI will not give evidence, I will provide them. I will give evidence against Chidamabaram first, later I will also provide it against Sonia Gandhi. I just wanted him (Chidambaram) to be made a co-accused," said Swamy.
     
Earlier, the judge, in his terse two-line reading from the 64-page judgement, told Swamy that his petition was dismissed as on the basis of the facts presented by him in the court, nothing incriminating or malafide could be found against the Union Home Minister.
    
The Supreme Court had on February 2, 2012, while cancelling all 122 2G licences allotted after January 10, 2008, referred the matter of whether Chidambaram's role should be investigated back to the trial court.
    
The trial in the 2G case would resume from February 6.