NEW DELHI, Oct 21:
Chennai’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM), who has been appointed as a commissioner to record the statement of DMK supremo M Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal as a prosecution witness in 2G case, has summoned all the 17 accused in the case to appear before him on October 28.
The CMM was appointed as commissioner to record 84-year-old Ammal’s testimony by a Special CBI Court, holding trial in the case, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s direction.
“You are hereby requested to appear before me at 10 AM on the 28th day of October, 2013…,” the CMM said in the notice issued to all the accused.
The CBI today served summons to all the accused who were present during the court proceeding.
Special CBI Judge O P Saini had on October 14 pulled up the Chennai CMM for delaying the recording of Ammal’s statement and had observed that it might prolong the ongoing trial in the 2G spectrum case.
The court had said that despite lapse of over a month, the statement has not been recorded till date.
The judge, who is holding the trial in the 2G case on a day-to-day basis, had directed the CBI to expedite the matter and to take it up with the CMM so that Ammal’s statement is recorded at the earliest.
The CMM Chennai was appointed as the commissioner for the purpose after the Supreme Court had on August 22 refused to exempt Ammal from deposing as a witness in the case.
The apex court, however, had exempted her from personal appearance in the special CBI court and had directed that she be examined in Chennai.
The apex court had passed the order on a plea filed by Ammal’s daughter Selvi seeking a direction to exempt her mother from appearing before the trial court as prosecution witness on medical grounds.
The apex court had said that according to a medical board report, Ammal was unfit to depose as a witness before the court as she cannot travel and had asked the special CBI court to appoint a commission to examine her in the case in Chennai where she resides.
Karunanidhi’s daughter and DMK MP Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, Managing Director of Kalaignar TV, are facing trial in the case along with former Telecom Minister A Raja and others.
Apart from Raja, Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, the other accused are Raja’s former private secretary R K Chandolia, former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Bollywood Producer Karim Morani and Reliance ADAG executives Gautam Doshi, Hari Nair and Surendra Pipara.
Besides them, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajeev Agarwal and Unitech Ltd’s MD Sanjay Chandra are also accused in the case.
Reliance Telecom Ltd, Swan Telecom and Unitech (Tamil Nadu) Wireless Ltd are also accused in the case. (PTI)
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