Cineyug director Morani denied bail in 2G scam

Karim Morani was seeking anticipatory bail on health grounds

PTI | May 23, 2011



A Delhi court on Monday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Cineyug Films director Karim Morani, an accused in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini dismissed Morani's plea seeking anticipatory bail on health grounds, saying his medical condition is "normal and stable". The court has now directed Morani to appear before it tomorrow.

"In view of the medical condition of the accused (Morani) being normal and stable, I am satisfied that no case for anticipatory bail on medical ground is made out. The application is without merit and the same is dismissed," the court said.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Morani had submitted before the court that the medical condition of Morani is not such that he should be placed under custody as he may not be able to bear the stressful environment of being placed in custody.

"I may also add that in case of need, proper medical facilities are available in Tihar Jail itself and if an undertrial/prisoner requires any further treatment, he is immediately taken to RML hospital or AIIMS, as per the requirement of the situation. So proper medical facilities are available to all prisoners in case of necessity and this ground cannot be pressed now when as good facilities as are available outside are available to an undertrial in the jail itself," the court said.

CBI, in its second charge sheet in 2G case, had alleged that Swan Telecom and Dynamix Realty Promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka channeled Rs 200 crore to DMK family-run Kalaignar TV, through Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd and Morani's Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd.

DMK MP Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar, accused in the 2G scam, are already in judicial custody after the court denied bail to them on May 20.
Luthra, while pressing for Morani's bail, had said that conspiracy was like a train and Morani was just like a 'chaiwala' (tea vendor) who hops on to the train and hops off after carrying out his work without any idea of where the train is going and has nothing to do with it.

Countering the submissions, special public prosecutor U U Lalit had said that these are not innocent transactions of a 'chaiwala' who hops on to a train. He had argued that Morani was handling the finances of Cineyug when the "illegal gratification" of Rs 200 crore was routed to Kalaignar TV through it.

Submitting that these were back-to-back transactions which by no means were a commercial act on the part of Cineyug, Lalit had said that on December 24, 2009, Rs 10 crore moved from Kusegaon Fruits to Cineyug to Kalaignar. Likewise, Rs 100 crore reached KTV on July 15, 2009.

Lalit had said that on merits, the man (Morani), who was a conduit, is not entitled to anything.

Luthra had submitted a verification report of Morani's medical records issued by the JJ Hospital in Mumbai in pursuant to the court's earlier direction. The department of cardiology and neurology of JJ Hospital report stated that his vitals were normal and he was advised to undergo follow-up checks as an outpatient.

The CBI had not opposed his plea on medical grounds but refuted his arguments that the money moved by him into Kalaignar TV was a purely commercial transaction and that he did not know that the same was meant for nefarious designs.
 

Comments

 

Other News

How Rafi, Raj Kapoor helped pave the way for a great uranium deal

There`s a certain moment in diplomacy that`s too personal to be captured in a communiqué, too small to make the front page, but more revealing than the front page. This week, prime minister Narendra Modi reached Tashkent and, amid the pomp of state visits, managed to evoke the old Bollywood tunes

Distinguishing Fish 1 and Fish 2: The pragmatism behind India’s WTO ratification

 India became the 123rd WTO member to ratify the multilateral Agreement on Fisheries subsidies (AoFS) when it deposited the Instrument of Acceptance for Phase 1 on July 20, 2026. The ratification is restricted to disciplining Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU), protection for overfished

The 7% growth problem: Why the next 7% will be harder

India has become accustomed to hearing the 7% growth number. It is now less a milestone than an expectation. Yet the paradox is becoming clearer: maintaining 7% growth may be considerably harder than achieving it once. India’s real GDP grew 7.7% in FY2025–26, following growth of 6.5% in FY202

The Constitution cannot be altered: Justice Abhay Oka

Justice Abhay Oka, who retired from the Supreme Court in May 2025, has said that the Constitution of India cannot be altered. Explaining the landmark Kesavananda Bharati judgment (1973) on the basic structure of the Constitution, he said, “This is one judgment that has saved democracy in India.&rdq

How the flora and fauna evolved in the Indian subcontinent

Mammals of India  By A.J.T. Johnsingh and P.O. Nameer HarperCollins India in association with Bombay Natural History Society  

India`s renewable race is moving beyond megawatts

When Shell bought Sprng Energy in 2022, India`s renewable energy market appeared to offer precisely what global energy majors were seeking: scale, growth and a place in one of the world`s largest energy transitions. Four years later, Shell is selling the same business to Aditya Birla Group for an enterpris

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter