Aircel-Maxis case: Marans’ plea in Supreme Court today
Maran and his brother are challenging the summons issued to them by the 2G Special Court
By : j. venkatesan
Update: 2015-02-06 11:52 GMT
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Friday a petition filed by former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother Kalanithi Maran challenging the summons issued to them by the 2G Special Court in the Aircel-Maxis case.
A bench of Justices V. Gopala Gowda and R. Banumathi will take up the case in which it was contended that the special court was constituted solely for the purpose of hearing cases related to the 2G spectrum scam and Aircel-Maxis case is not directly related to the 2G scam.
According to the chargesheet filed by the CBI, Mr. Sivasankaran (who had originally sought spectrum licence) was forced to sell Aircel. In March 2006, Maxis group owned by Malaysian business tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan bought 74 per cent stake in Aircel. The company got the FIPB approval in May 2006. In November 2006, DoT issued 14 LOIs to Aircel, and all of them were converted into licences in December 2006.
Within three months of this, Mr Maran’s family owned business (Sun Direct) received substantial investment from Maxis Group (Aircel) by taking 20 per cent equity in Sun Direct. The FIPB approved this investment on March 2 & 19, 2007. Maxis Group invested a total of Rs. 599.01 crore in Sun Direct between December 2007 to December 2009.
The CBI court took cognisance of the chargehseet in October 2014 and issued summons to the Marans and six others for their appearance in the court on March 2. 2015. “I have carefully gone through the copy of the FIR, charge sheet, statement of witnesses and related documents comprised in the voluminous record of the case,” Special Judge O.P. Saini observed in his two-page order while taking cognisance of the chargesheet.”
The other accused include Mr Krishnan, Ralph Marshall, senior executive, Maxis Group, and four companies, including Sun Direct TV Pvt. Ltd. The CBI had in 2011 registered an FIR stating that Mr Sivasankaran, who had sought spectrum licence, was allegedly forced to sell his company to Maxis. The petitioners prayed for quashing the summons and an interim stay of the 2G court proceedings in the Aircel case.