Delhi HC stays Chandolia's bail

R K Chandolia, personal secretary to former telecom minister A Raja, is in a limbo as far as his bail is concerned. In a rare development, the Delhi high court here on Friday sought a stay on the bail order given by the 2G trial court yesterday. The notice was sent on its own initiative by the HC to the trial court. The order said, “In case Chandolia has not been released on bail, there shall be a stay against the operation of the said order (of bail).” Chandolia was released from Tihar Jail last night.

The order on Chandolia has come in the wake of the pending verdict on former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura’s bail application. High court judge Justice V K Shali had reserved the order on Behura’s bail petition yesterday.

Referring to trial court judge OP Saini’s bail order for Chandolia, Justice Shali said, “Question arises as to whether the order of grant of bail was just, proper or arbitrary or unreasonable having regard to the facts of the case and the allegations made.” The development came as a rude shock to the accused and the lawyers who said this case is getting more peculiar by the day. “It is very strange and unprecendented. The HC order can now only be cancelled after both the parties are heard again,” a senior lawyer associated with the 2G case said.

Chandolia’s lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, refused to comment on the matter.

According to legal experts, the high court notice has put Chandolia on a leash. “On what moral grounds is CBI choosing to oppose the bail pleas of Chandolia or Behura while not going against the private persons who have allegedly taken bribes,” a senior lawyer said. Saini granted bail to Chandolia despite CBI opposing it.

In its notice to the special CBI court, Shali said “This court in exercise of its powers of superintendence…deems it just and proper to see the legality, propriety and correctness of the said orders passed the learned Special Judge.”

While stating that it was learnt through newspaper reports that Chandolia had been granted bail, the high court order has directed the trial court to submit to it the record of Chandolia’s bail application, CBI’s reply and copy of any other relevant documents. The matter has been listed for hearing in the high court for December 7.

Saini, in his order yesterday had said that Chandolia was only a private secretary and did not have any independent powers and that his case cannot be equated with that of Raja or Behura. CBI while opposing his bail plea had said that the three – Raja, Behura and Chandolia were “high ranking public servants” thereby making a distinction with the private persons who had got bail.

Even High Court in its notice has said that Chandolia is reported to be a member of Indian Economic Service and a ‘public servant.’

On November 23, the Supreme Court while granting bail to five corporate honchos had come down hard on the High Court and the lower court for not granting bail to the accused. “The reasoning adopted by the learned district judge which is affirmed by the High Court, in our opinion, (it is) a denial of the whole basis of our system of law and normal role of the bail system. It transcends respect for the requirement that a man shall be considered innocent until he is found guilty,” the Supreme Court order said.

Thereafter, High Court had taken the apex court’s order as a precedent for granting bail to Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar, Kusegaon Food and Vegetables directors Rajiv Agarwal and Asif Balwa, and Cineyug Entertainment’s Karim Morani.