Aircel-Maxis case: SSP withdraws plea challenging Marans’ discharge order
Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover drops the case challenging the Marans' discharge order at the behest of a Supreme Court order
New Delhi: The Special Public Prosecutor Anand Grover on Wednesday withdrew his plea challenging the special courts order discharging Dayanidhi Maran, Kalanithi Maran and others in the Aircel-Maxis case.
“You either withdraw the case or we will dismiss it." said Chief Justice of India, J.S. Khehar.
Grover had mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India, J. S. Khehar a day after the special court passed an order discharging the Marans claiming that the order had been wrongly passed without furnishing of bail bonds by the accused.
He also sought on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that the properties attached under the order may not be released.
In an order by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on 2 February, it dropped all charges brought by both CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran and others accused in the Aircel-Maxis case.
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 Berhad.
In a separate public interest litigation seeking to restrain Aircel from trading spectrum granted to it in 2006, the court has said that it may consider the auction of 2G spectrum owned by Aircel Ltd to pay bank debt of Rs20,000 crore if its Malaysian owners, summoned to appear before the Indian courts, fail to turn up.
Aircel is 74% owned by Malaysia’s Maxis Communications Bhd.
A special CBI court has ordered its owner T. Ananda Krishnan and others to appear before the CBI, but they haven’t complied.
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