NEW DELHI, July 4: The Delhi High Court today asked Dayalu Ammal, the wife of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, to approach the Supreme Court with her petition challenging a trial court order dismissing her plea for exemption from appearing as a witness in the 2G case.
Justice Sunil Gaur also asked CBI to ensure that no coercive order is passed by the trial court till lunch time on Monday, the day when Ammal has been summoned to appear before the trial court as prosecution witness.
“I can’t hear the matter on merit. You (Ammal) have to make a mention before the Supreme Court. It is being monitored by the Supreme Court and I am not going to touch it. You may be having a good case on merits but I can’t hear,” Justice Gaur said after CBI’s counsel Sonia Mathur questioned the maintainability of the plea.
Appearing for Ammal, senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog said the petition cannot be mentioned today and tomorrow before the apex court but he agreed with the high court to mention the plea before Supreme Court on Monday morning.
Earlier, CBI counsel had questioned the maintainability of the plea, saying the apex court has already put a blanket ban on the high court to entertain any plea in the 2G case.
The CBI counsel also argued that the trial court had passed the order on Ammal’s plea on May 31 but the petitioner was silent for the whole month of June and did not challenge the trial court order but few days before she has to appear before the trial judge, the witness has approached the high court which is unfair.
Ammal has been made a prosecution witness in the 2G case and the trial court has summoned her to appear before it on July 8 for recording of her deposition.
Challenging the trial court’s May 31 order, 82-year-old Ammal, in her plea, has sought the court to pass an order for constitution of a medical board which would then furnish a report on her fitness to appear in the court.
Ammal had submitted that that she was diagnosed with cognitive and behavioural abnormalities in June last year and that she is progressively and gradually losing recognition of even her near and dear ones.
Her plea had said that due to her physical and mental condition, Ammal is prone to “abrasive behaviour, clumsy habit with sudden hitting or punching people, inappropriate talk and action and inability to take care of day-to-day activities”.
Earlier, her counsel had submitted that the court should seek a report from the medical board and if it gives a fitness report, his client has no objection in appearing as a witness in the trial court.
The high court had asked her to appear before the trial court and in case she does not understand the questions of the judge, she could make a submission before the trial court for an order.
The trial court had on May 31 dismissed Ammal’s exemption plea, saying she is an “important witness” as she was a director in Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd in which an alleged bribe amount of Rs 200 crore was received.
Ammal had approached the trial court seeking exemption from personal appearance as a witness and to dispense with her presence in the case citing her ailments.
The trial court’s order assumed significance as Karunanidhi’s daughter and DMK MP Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, Managing Director of the TV channel, are facing trial in the case along with former Telecom Minister A Raja, DB Realty Ltd MD Vinod Goenka and others.
CBI has, in its charge sheet, discussed the routing of over Rs 200 crore illegal gratification from M/S Dynamix Realty to Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd through M/S Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd.
In its first charge sheet filed on April 2, 2011, CBI had said the money had travelled through a “circuitous route” through Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, a DB group company and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd, to Kalaignar TV in which Dayalu Ammal, Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar were having 60, 20 and 20 per cent shares respectively.
Ammal was not named as an accused in the case by CBI which had said due to her advanced age and “non-understanding” of any language other than Tamil, she was only fulfilling the legal requirements of Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd in which she is one of the Directors.
CBI had said Ammal had delegated her power to Sharad Kumar to run the company’s affairs. (PTI)
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