Lessons from the 2G scam trial
These are indeed extraordinary times. How else should one interpret the order that's been delivered while denying bail to the likes of Kanmozhi and others. This was a case where the CBI itself had taken a position that it wasn't opposed to bail being granted to the DMK MP in the 2G scam case.
But the special sessions court Judge, Justice OP Saini, felt otherwise. The judge observed: "A murder may be committed in the heat of moment upon passion being aroused. An economic offence is committed with cool calculation and deliberate design with an eye on personal profit regardless of consequence to community. Rights of accused is important but rights of victims and witness is no less valuable..they should have a sense of safety and security. One way of generating a sense of security is to keep accused in custody till their evidence is complete."
Let's consider the profile of the accused. Kanimozhi is an MP from one of the most powerful political parties. If witnesses have to be influenced, it can easily be done by her family members. Karunanidhi may have lost power on his home turf but he remains an important force to reckon with at the Centre. Other bureaucrats like RK Chandaulia and Sidharth Behura have worked with the high and mighty in the corridors of power. They too can swing things without necessarily getting their own names involved.
So why this insistance on keeping the accused in custody till such time that the trial doesn't get over? Is this a case of judicial over reach? Isn't bail the fundamental right of an accused? Look at the US. One of India's biggest icons, Billionaire investment banker Rajat Gupta, has been declared guilty of insider trading. He faces a maximum punishment of 105 years in jail. He too is accused of committing an economic offence perhaps as grave if not bigger.
A case of cheating is just that, cheating! But he is out on bail. So can he not influence witnesses with his financial clout?
One can, of course, argue that there are several people who spend much more time in jail than even the sentence they would have served if they would have been declared guilty. Only because their trial continues. One can be accused of perhaps being soft on individuals who have committed the biggest fraud in corporate India. But the danger of what we are witnessing becoming a precedent for all times to come is just too big to be ignored.
There is the example of Speak Asia, a company that was involved in carrying out online surveys and polls to figure out consumer trends. This is a company which is running very successful and professional operations in several other countries. In India too, It managed to do good business and provide money to several middle class Indians. Till the time that someone decided to complain against them. Suddenly, everything that they had built had become illegal.
Its COO, A dynamic enterpreneur who used to be with the armed forces earlier, is in jail. Top executives of the company are allegedly on the run and the company's entire business operation is in jeopardy. The situation gets more curious as so far government agencies haven't yet produced any strong evidence against the company. Yet the company is finding the going tough.
So whether its Unitech, Reliance or Speak Asia, the complaint against all these big corporate players is the same, that they cheated. They are all supposed to be powerful enough to manipulate things in their favour. But then if that was indeed the case, How did they fail to manipulate the proceedings earlier? How did all of them land up in jail?
Need of the hour is for the criminal justice system to deliver verdicts quickly. Else India will soon lose its sheen of being the destination for entrepreneurship and growth.
26 October 2
