Court dismisses Chandolia's bail plea

New Delhi, Jul 29: Former Telecom Minister A Raja's ex-personal secretary R K Chandolia's plea for interim bail on the ground the CBI lacks proper sanction to prosecute him in the 2G case was dismissed today (Jul 29) by a Delhi court.

"Your application is dismissed," special CBI judge O P Saini said, dismissing Chandolia's plea, minutes before he opened his argument opposing corruption and various other penal charges against him in the case.

Chandolia, a key accused, was arrested on February 2, 2011, for his alleged role in the 2G spectrum allocation scam. He was named as accused in the first charge sheet filed by the CBI.

He had sought interim bail contending that the CBI did not have the valid sanction from the competent authority under Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act to probe the case against him.

He claimed there is no sanction to prosecute him for the offences punishable under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC and had sought interim bail till the disposal of his application.

Countering his plea, the CBI had submitted that Satish Bhushan, Under-Secretary (Vigilance), Ministry of Finance, had conveyed the government's permission as required under the DSPE Act to initiate inquiry against him in a letter dated December 7, 2010.

The CBI had contended that Raja's former personal secretary's plea was based upon incorrect assertions.

PTI