No role in case, I am 'common' shareholder: Kanimozhi

DMK MP Kanimozhi today told a Delhi court that she was a common shareholder in Kalaignar TV and ignorant about the channel's decision to take a "loan" of Rs 200 crore from Cineyug Films.

"She did not even know that her company was taking Rs 200 crore loan at 10 per cent interest rate. See her as a common shareholder who attends just an Annual General Meeting once in a year.
"Holding shares does not mean participating in the day-to-day affairs of the company," senior advocate Sushil Kumar, appearing for Kanimozhi, told Special CBI Judge O P Saini.
Kanimozhi and co-accused Sharad Kumar, Managing Director and CEO of the DMK-run channel, hold 20% stakes each in Kalaignar TV and rest 60% stakes are being held by Dayalu Ammal, wife of party supremo M Karunanidhi, CBI said in its charge sheet.
Seeking discharge from the case, the 43-year-old Rajya Sabha member said she had nothing to do with the "day-to-day" affairs of the channel and had served as a director for only two weeks.
"She had attended just three meetings as a director of the board of KTV--that is on June 6, 12, 20 in 2007. She was director for just 14 days.
"The chairman of the board informed that Kanimozhi, being pre-occupied, does not wish to continue in office and attended only three board meetings as a director," the defence lawyer said.  For these three attendance, Kanimozhi has already spent three months in jail, the defence counsel said.
"She is a shareholder of 20% and was a director for two weeks. Thereafter, there is no material to show any connection between her and the company and its business. She is a shareholder. A shareholder can share profit or loss to the company but for fastening criminal liability on them (shareholder), something more is required.
"Can the prosecution show what is her gain from this transaction? Ultimately, she will gain or lose in dividend like any other shareholder. But there is nothing more than that," he said.
Kanimozhi did not attend the board meeting in which the proposal of loan of Rs 200 crore came up, he said. "Everybody is obsessed with the idea that she is the daughter of so and so ... While being interrogated by CBI on
March 11, 2011, she had told them that she had nothing to do with the company and yet they chose to make her an accused. There is nothing to show she knew about the agreement between KTV and Cineyug" he said.
On the allegation of Cineyug giving money to KTV at an "unusual low interest rate", he said, "a loan of Rs 200 crore on a low interest rate to a company with a valuation of Rs 846 crore was no risk at all.
"In 2009, KTV was raising loans from the market. Had we known we would be receiving Rs 200 crore as bribe, why would we worry about raising loans from elsewhere?" he said.