Court allows Morani to attend IPL-5 opening

NEW DELHI, INDIA: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court hearing the 2G spectrum allocation scam on Friday allowed exemption from appearance to accused and Cineyug Films director Karim Morani to attend the opening matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Special CBI judge O.P. Saini granted exemption to Morani from personal appearance before the court April 2 to 4 for attending a meeting of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the opening match of IPL session 5.

Morani's counsel Sandeep Kapoor requested court to allow exemption to Morani for business purpose.

"It (IPL) is a big event. His (Morani) company (Cineyug Fims) is associated with it for last five years... it is the first time I am asking exemption for business purpose," he said.

Kapoor told the court that as executive director of Cineyug Films, which holds a stake in the Shah Rukh Khan-owned KKR, he is required to be present for all matches of KKR in IPL.

CBI has named Morani as a co-conspirator in the scam after it traced an illegal money trail of Rs.214 crore involving him.

According to the government auditor, the 2G scam, allegedly masterminded by former telecom minister A. Raja, pertained to a biased distribution of mobile airwaves and operating licences, in lieu of kickbacks, to telecom firms that could have cost the treasury up to Rs.1.76 lakh crore in lost revenue.