Vikas Saraf has been named as the main accused in Loop-Essar case. The court framed charges of Section 420 against Saraf, and those relating to Section 120 were framed against the rest. Meanwhile all five individuals accused were granted bail, reports CNBC-TV18's Malvika Jain.
Charges have been framed against all the eight accused who have been named in the second supplementary chargesheet filed by the CBI in the 2G scam case. Saraf has been charged with a substantive offence under section 420 on charges of cheating. He has also been charged with criminal conspiracy. So, he has been charged with 120 B read with section 420.
All other accused in this case that is Ravi Ruia, Anshuman Ruia who are promoters of Essar TeleHoldings, Kiran and IP Khaitan promoters of Loop Telecom and the companies that is Essar Teleholdings and Loop Telecom and Loop Mobile have been charged with criminal conspiracy.
They have been charged for entering into a criminal conspiracy with Vikas Saraf. The charge is under section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code read with 420. The trial in this case will continue and the next date of hearing will be scheduled for July 27 and 28.
Mukul Rohatgi the counsel for Loop-Essar said, “According to us, our clients have done nothing wrong, they have committed no crime, they have breached no law. Violation of guideline even assuming there is a violation of a guideline can never bring it into the realm of criminality or a criminal illegality. That is our case and that is where we stand. It will be business as usual for the group and parties have a right to challenge the charges in a higher court which after reading the order I will advise the clients to go higher and challenge.”
All the accused individuals in this case have been granted bail by the trail court. They were never taken into judicial custody by the court it is just that they were in courts custody and they had moved a bail application.
So it seems that while a director of Essar TeleHolding has been charged for a criminal conspiracy and cheating, the others have been charged for entering into a criminal conspiracy with this officer.
For grant of bail their passports have been seized and they have had to submit two sureties of Rs 5 lakh each.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!