2G case: Ex-telecom secy seeks bail on ground of parity

Former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, who along with ex-Telecom Minister A Raja and another public servant, is left behind in Tihar jail after 11 others got bail in 2G spectrum allocation case, today sought his release in the Delhi High Court on the ground of "parity".

"The persons [Sanjay Chandra, Vinod Goenka] concerning alleged beneficiaries of scam [Unitech and Swan Telecom] are out on bail. The bribe [of Rs 200 crore] givers and takers [five persons including Kanimozhi] are also out on bail. I also deserved to be released on the ground of parity and parity alone," advocate Aman Lekhi, appearing for the former bureaucrat, told Justice VK Shali.

Quoting from yesterday's judgement of the court granting bail to 43-year-old Kanimozhi and others, Lekhi charged CBI with making an "illegal" and "hostile" distinction among the accused on the ground of "private" and "public servants".

"They [CBI] have created a category, that is called public servants, which is unknown to law. In the trial court, CBI did not oppose the bail plea of five persons charged in the second charge sheet and then it had forgotten this class, that is public servants," he said, adding even section 409 [criminal breach of trust] of IPC is applicable to all and did not limit itself to public servants.

"Unlike other politically connected accused, the retired public servant lacked political muscle and financial clout to tamper with evidence. In fact, he is the least influential among the lot," he said.

This court has rightly observed that the apex court, which was cognizant of the fact that section 409 was invoked against all accused, granted bail and the ground of parity would be available to all, he said adding "I am relying on My Lords judgement in this very case."