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After 10 months in jail, former bureaucrat R K Chandolia, an accused in the 2G case, was on Thursday granted bail by a Delhi court which said that his case "cannot be equated" with that of former Telecom Minister A Raja and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, now the only two accused still behind bars.
Special CBI Judge O P Saini enlarged the accused on bail saying that being the private secretary of Raja, Chandolia was not having any "independent powers" on his own and there was no allegation that he himself accepted any bribe.
"Accused R K Chandolia was only the private secretary to the then Minister of Communication and Information Technology (A Raja) and was not having any independent powers on his own.
"Co-accused A Raja was political head of the Department of Telecommunication whereas co-accused Siddharth Behura was its administrative head. As such, with due respect, his case cannot be equated with these two accused," the court said.
The judge granted bail to Chandolia and imposed certain conditions, including that he would not visit the DoT without prior permission of the court.
The court also took into account that 11 co-accused, including DMK MP Kanimozhi and Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, have already been granted bail in the case.
It said that charges have been framed against Chandolia only for the offence of conspiracy and criminal misconduct.
The special judge, in his five-page order, said Chandolia has been in jail for 10 months after he was arrested on February 2 and his "further incarceration" would not serve any purpose."
Chandolia was granted bail on furnishing personal bond of Rs 3 lakh with two sureties of the like amount.
The judge has barred him from visiting the Department of Telecommunication without prior permission of the court.
The court considered that the case is at the stage of recording of prosecution evidence and 10 of the accused have been enlarged on bail by the Supreme Court and the High Court.
"Considering the period of custody already undergone by the accused (Chandolia), stage of the case, that is, the case is at the stage of recording of prosecution evidence, and the fact that five of the co-accused have already been released on bail by the Supreme Court, five by the Delhi High Court and one by this court, I am of the humble opinion that further incarceration of the accused would not serve any purpose.
"Accordingly, I am inclined to admit the accused to bail and he is, accordingly, admitted to bail on furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs three lakhs with two sureties in the like amount," the judge said.
The court directed Chandolia not to make any inducement or threat to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to "dissuade" him to disclose such facts.
The judge directed him to surrender his passport before the court and granted liberty to CBI to move an application for modification or recalling the order if for any reason, the accused violates any of the conditions imposed by the court or creates any condition which is not conducive to the holding of a fair trial.
The court said he should not remain absent from any proceedings related to the case without the prior permission of the court and should also inform the CBI about it.