Decision On Regular Bail To Rao In Jmm Case Today

A Delhi court would today pronounce its order on the regular bail applications of former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, two of his former Cabinet colleagues, Buta Singh and Satish Sharma, and six other accused who appeared on summons in Rs 3.5 crore Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MPs bribery case.

Designated Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge Ajit Bharihoke reserved his order after hearing brief arguments by the counsel of all the nine accused in the special court at Vigyan Bhawan here.

The six accused who appeared on summons in this case for the first time yesterday are, former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily, two of his former colleagues, H M Revanna and Ramalinga Reddy, V Rajeshwar Rao, MP and a relative of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, and two Karnataka-based liquor barons D K Adakesavulu and M Thimme Gowda.

Central Bureau of Investigation counsel A K Dutt, opposing the bail applications said that the court should consider the gravity of the offence while deciding the bail pleas.

Raos counsel Ram Kumar Anand contended that the Delhi High Court, while granting anticipatory bail to his client last week, had observed that the investigations so far as the former Prime Minister is concerned, was over and chargesheet had also been filed against him by the CBI.

Anand further said that being a former Prime Minister, Raos movements are known to everybody, and therefore, there is no question of tampering with the evidence.

He said that the high court had also considered the ill-health of his client as one of the grounds in granting him anticipatory bail.

Anand pointed out that Rao had already been granted regular bail in St Kitts and Lakhubhai Pathak cases.

The counsel for all the other accused also adopted the same line of arguments, while Buta Singhs counsel said that his client was falsely implicated in the case as he had no knowledge of the alleged payment of money to the JMM MPs.

The four Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leaders, Shibu Soren, Suraj Mandal, Simon Marandi and Shailendra Mahato, are already on regular bail granted by the Delhi High Court last week.