SC gives bail to former telecom secy Behura,Raja files his first bail plea

“The case against the petitioner (Raja) is false and fabricated and is not sustainable on law or on facts. The petitioner is innocent and is likely to get acquitted. All the individual accused persons in this case,except the petitioner,have been released on bail… The petitioner is entitled to bail on the grounds of parity,” the application said.

Raja added that he was unable to assist his lawyers while in custody. “The PAC of the Parliament and the JPC are also looking into various aspects of this matter. The petitioner has been unable to put his case before the PAC and the JPC on account of his being in custody,” his plea said.

The DMK MP added that he was a law-abiding citizen with clean antecedents and “deep roots” in society,and would not misuse his liberty if he got bail. “The entire evidence in this case is documentary. Most of the records had been seized by the CBI in October 2009 itself. There is no possibility of the evidence being tampered with,” the application said.

Meanwhile,the Supreme Court granted Behura bail today,telling him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh and surety of Rs 5 lakh. The court also set aside a stay imposed by the Delhi High Court on the bail of another accused,R K Chandolia,Raja’s former private secretary. Both Behura and Chandolia were arrested by the CBI with Raja on February 2 last year.

In Chandolia’s case,the trial court had granted bail,but the Delhi High Court recalled it in a suo motu action on the basis of news reports and imposed a stay on December 1 last year. The HC had said Chandolia could not be given bail when the decision on Behura’s application was pending.

On December 16,Behura’s request for bail was denied on the ground that he was the “perpetrator” of the alleged illegal design of Raja and could not claim benefit of parity with other accused released on bail.

Both Chandolia and Behura had separately approached the SC against the HC’s decisions.

A Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and H L Dattu today told the CBI that refusing bail to the duo was not justified.

To CBI’s contention that public servants like Behura are often the “source of corruption” and granting them bail would send a wrong signal,the Bench replied that the accused would get the appropriate punishment if found guilty after trial and refusing bail at this stage was not justice.

The court said the question of Behura absconding does not arise,pointing to his long public service record. Besides,the court said,there was no danger of tampering with evidence as a substantial part of the evidence,mostly documentary in nature,has already been recorded by the trial court.

The court told Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran,appearing for CBI,that such apprehensions in this case were merely an “illusion”.