2G case: Raja, Kanimozhi oppose CBI plea, order reserved

A Delhi court today reserved its order on CBI plea to summon additional prosecution witnesses, including Enforcement Directorate's Deputy Director Rajeshwar Singh, in a 2G spectrum allocation case which was opposed by former Telecom Minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini fixed November 18 for pronouncing the order after hearing arguments during which some of the high-profile accused questioned the intention of the agency to file the plea at the fag end of the trial.

While Raja and Kanimozhi questioned the legality of CBI's move, some of the businessmen accused said the agency's intentions were malafide and it was delaying the trial as the evidence in the case has already been closed.

Counsel appearing for Raja said that the two ED officers' statements which CBI wanted to get recorded in the court cannot be read as evidence.

Even if the agency is granted permission to record their statements, the court cannot rely on them, he contended.

Similarly, Kanimozhi's lawyer sought dismissal of the plea, saying the agency has filed the application at a "highly belated stage" when the recording of evidence has already been closed and they were trying to fill up the lacunae now.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, who appeared for Shahid Balwa and Asif Balwa, said there was an inordinate delay in filing the application for which CBI has not explained reasons.

During the day, Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover argued that under provision of the CrPC even after closing of evidence in a case, an application for summoning material witnesses is maintainable.

He said at this stage, the witnesses and documents which they wish to call are relevant and that he would complete recording of evidence of the five witnesses in a week.

CBI moved the plea seeking court's permission to summon some prosecution witnesses and to place additional documents on record, saying they were necessary to arrive at the truth.

Besides Rajeshwar Singh, CBI has sought permission to call ED's Assistant Director Satyendra Singh, Under Secretary of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Navil Kapur and bank official D Mani.

Apart from these four persons, the agency has sought to recall General Manager (Finance) of Kalaignar TV (P) Ltd G Rajendran, who had earlier deposed as a witness in the case, for further examination.