New Delhi: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday refused to entertain an application filed by the central investigating agency to declare T. Anand Krishnan and Augustus Ralph Marshall as absconding in relation to the Aircel-Maxis case.
“The application is wholly unwarranted, dilatory in nature and without merit,” special judge O.P. Saini held while dismissing the application.
The central investigating agency had moved the court alleging that both T. Anand Marshall and Anand Krishnan were absconding during the trial stage and that the final discharge order should not have been passed without demanding their personal presence at earlier stages.
It added that the accused could not escape from the court during the pendency of trial and that this could set a bad precedent for the criminal justice system in India.
The court noted that in such a case where it was obvious that the chances of execution of warrants were bleak, owing to the accused residing in a foreign country, it made sense to wait till the execution of warrants or voluntary appearance before the court.
On 24 September, 2016, the court had issued open bailable warrants against two Malaysian nationals as summons had not been served on them.
Subsequently, in February, the court gave Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi and others a clean chit. It did not find them guilty of the charges made out in the chargesheet.
The Aircel-Maxis case is related to allegations that as telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran used his influence to coerce Aircel owner C. Sivasankaran into parting with his stake in the company to T. Ananda Krishnan-led Maxis Communications Bhd.
This was allegedly done in lieu of investments by the Malaysian company through an arm in Sun Direct TV Pvt. Ltd. Dayanidhi Maran is one of the promoters of Sun Direct and was telecom minister between 2004-07.