The developments in the Patiala Court today on the bail application of Kanimozhi shattered the hopes of millions of people, particularly those residing in Tamilnadu that Justice will be done in the 2G Spectrum case. It is said that it is not enough that Justice is done, but it is necessary that Justice must be seen to be done. The postponement of the order on Kanimozhi's bail application to the 14th of May raises the worry whether Justice can be seen to be done in the 2G case. For, the date of judgment on the bail application falling just after the date of election- results in TN raises questions in the minds of ordinary folks like me whether Judiciary in this case is insulated against the tricks of those in power. Any other date would not have raised this doubt. But this date certainly creates doubts in the minds of people. Justice O.P. Saini must have taken this (declaration of election results in TN) into consideration and avoided a situation that raises questions on the credibility of the Justice System.
It is everyone's knowledge that the 2G case is one where those in power in the Centre and in Tamilnadu have a huge stake and have worked over the board to bury it somehow. It is because of this, the judges who initially heard this case made every conceivable method to discourage any delay or derailment of this case and made it known that no power on earth can play with the fair trail of this case. Their pronouncements created hope in the minds of the people that we started to have faith in the Highest Court. When the CBI issued the charge sheet on Kanimozhi after the elections were over, we thought that this is after all the way the CBI is known to work, but pinned our hopes on the Judiciary that it would not create any semblance of lack of Justice being done. But by reserving the order on the bail application to the 14th, an impression has been created that something is happening behind the screen.
It is said that Justice delayed is Justice denied. In this case, the delay in pronouncing the order in the bail applications might lead to denial of Justice to the people. The CBI was perceived to have committed one such delay. If only the CBI had included Kanimozhi's name in the first charge sheet, the voter reaction would have been something but by delaying to add her name, it actually amounted to cheating the people from knowing the truth about her and the issues around the charge. A similar scenario is likely to unfold by not pronouncing judgment immediately on the bail application. The date of the pronouncement raises avoidable questions.
I wish this aberration is corrected and the Judge reconsiders his decision on the date of passing the order. Let not an impression be created that being the daughter of Karunanidhi really helps – not only for her own self but also for her party in helping to keep in tact the alliance partners.
