You can face trial, SC tells Dayanidhi Maran

Former Union telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran will have to face trial in the case related to the alleged setting up of “illegal” telephone exchanges for benefitting his brother Kalanithi Maran’s Sun TV Network, the Supreme Court said on Monday.

The top court dismissed

Maran’s plea challenging the Madras High Court’s July 25 decision setting aside a CBI court order discharging him in the case.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, R Banumathi and Navin Sinha said it was not inclined to interfere in the matter and all the allegations could be dealt with during the trial.

“The allegations against you is that you used telephone lines to set up an exchange to benefit your brother. All these allegations can be dealt at the time of trial, You can face trial,” the bench said. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Maran, said the high court had not considered all aspects and has wrongly set aside the trial court order discharging them.

“We are not inclined to in- terfere. However, as recording our reasons for the above conclusion may affect the trial, we refrain from doing so. It will, naturally, be open for each of the accused to urge all contentions before the trial Court and the trial will be held without being influenced by any of the observations/findings recorded in the impugned orders. The Special Leave Petitions are disposed of in the above terms,” the bench said .

The bench also refused to entertain the plea of three other accused in the case.

The case relates to the period when Dayanidhi, a grandnephew of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, was the minister for communications and information technology during the tenure of UPA-1 government.

The CBI has alleged that he misused his official position and got private telephone exchanges installed at his residences in Chennai. These telephone lines were used for Sun Network’s business transactions, it was alleged.