2G scam: Balwa, Goenka fined

A court here today fined corporate honchos Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, accused in 2G spectrum allocation scam, for filing "frivolous" pleas seeking to visit Mumbai for business purpose saying the "government machinery cannot be made subservient to the money power of the accused to serve their business".

Balwa and Goenka had urged the court that they be allowed to go to Mumbai to attend the extraordinary general meeting of Etisalat DB, a joint venture firm of DB Realty group and UAE's Etisalat, on June 15.

Special CBI Judge OP Saini dismissed their pleas and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 saying the "government machinery cannot be made subservient to the money power of the accused to serve their business".

Balwa and Goenka had sought the court's permission also to visit Mumbai to appear before the Income Tax authorities in relation to a matter pertaining to Etisalat DB.

"The state machinery cannot be made subservient to the money power of the accsued persons to serve their business interest as attending an extra ordinary general meeting [EGM] or appearing before Income Tax authorities pertain to their business work," the court said.

The judge said the accused cannot claim they should be allowed to attend EGM of their company or to attend the office of any other authority in connection with their business, at a far away place, when the allegations against them are serious.

"This is all the more important in a case in which the applicants [Balwa and Goenka] are accused of subverting state policy in connivance with the Minister of Communication and IT and high rank public servants.