After 15 months in Tihar jail, A. Raja heads to Parliament

New Delhi, May 16 (ANI): A day after he walked out of Tihar Jail after securing bail in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, former Telecom Minister A. Raja went to Parliament on Wednesday.

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to Raja, who was arrested on February 2 last year, on a personal bond of Rs 20 lakh and two sureties of the like amount in the 2G spectrum case

The court while granting bail imposed conditions on Raja that he will not visit Tamil Nadu without its prior permission and will not go to the office of the Department of Telecom (DoT).

The court, in its 14-page bail order, also said that Raja would not try to influence any witnesses while on bail.

On the CBI's apprehension that if granted bail Raja may influence witnesses and tamper with evidence, the court said it addressed them by imposing conditions and restrictions on the accused.

The court noted that entire evidence in the case was documentary and was in its custody.

The timing of seeking bail is being seen as significant, as Raja waited till all other accused had been granted bail, before putting in his request for bail on grounds of "principle of parity."

However, the bail is conditional as Raja cannot visit his hometown without first taking the court's permission. He will also have to furnish two sureties of Rs 10 lakh each before he can be released.

The DMK MP had filed the bail plea on the ground that he should be treated in parity with the other 13 accused, all of whom have been granted relief by the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court and the special court trying the case.

Besides Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi, Behura, Raja's former private secretary R K Chandolia , Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Unitech Limited MD Sanjay Chandra and Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group executives Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair are facing trial in the case. (ANI)