2G scam threat hangs over DMK's family

After taking cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's charge-sheet filed in a money laundering case related to the 2G scam, a special court had summoned A.Raja, Kanimozhi and others on May 26.

Others named in the ED charge-sheet include DB Realty's Shahid Usman Balwa, Vinod K.Goenka, Asif Balwa, Rajiv B. Agarwal, Cineyug Films' Karim Morani, Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar and its director P. Amritham.

The ED charge-sheet is at variance with that of the CBI, which had made Dayalu Ammal and Amritham prosecution witnesses.

The money-laundering case pertains to the alleged illegal routing of Rs 200 crore to DMK family-run Kalaignar TV.

The ED has alleged that Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd paid a bribe of Rs 200 crore to Kalaignar TV in lieu of illegal grant of Unified Access Service (UAS) licence to the company

According to Section 45 (1)(b)(ii) of PMLA, no person accused under the Act shall be released on bail unless "where the public prosecutor opposes the application (for bail), the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail".

Kanimozhi has already spent 193 days in jail after she was sent to judicial custody in May 2011 in connection with the case then being investigated by CBI under Prevention of Corruption Act and various sections of Indian Penal Code. 

A Raja had spent 15 months in jail before he was released in May 2012.