2G case verdict: A Raja spent longest period among accused in jail during trial

Ex-telecom minister A Raja, who was today acquitted in the 2G spectrum case, had spent 15 months in jail during the trial which was the longest for any of the accused

Ex-telecom minister A Raja, who was today acquitted in the 2G spectrum case, had spent 15 months in jail during the trial which was the longest for any of the accused in the case.

Former telecom minister A Raja being garlanded by his supporters outside the Patiala House Courts after he was acquitted by a special court in the 2G scam case, in New Delhi on Thursday. (PTI Photo)

His party colleague and MP Kanimozhi, the daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, was in jail for six months from May 21, 2011 to November 28, 2011.

Raja, who was arrested on February 2, 2011, was the last among the 14 jailed accused, to get bail from the trial court on May 12, 2012.

The DMK leader was arrested along with the former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura and his erstwhile private secretary Ravindra Kumar Chandolia.

Behura was granted bail by the Supreme Court on May 9, 2012 while upholding the release of Chandolia by the trial court.

The CBI had arrested Shahid Usman Balwa, promoter of Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd, on February 8, 2011 who was granted bail on November 29, 2011.

Corporate executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group --Hari Nair, Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara -- and Sanjay Chandra of Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Pvt Ltd and Vinod Goenka of Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd -- were the first among the accused to get bail in the 2G case.

The apex court had on November 23, 2011 granted bail to the corporate honchos who were arrested on April 20 that year.

Later, the Delhi High Court had on November 28, 2011 granted bail to Kanimozhi, Sharad Kumar, Karim Morani, Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal in the case.