2G case: Air of celebration outside Tihar Jail

NEW DELHI: The air of celebration was evident outside Tihar Jail on Wednesday evening as well-wishers of 2G accused lined up in support of the five corporate honchos who had been granted bail earlier in the day by the apex court.
As the five accused — Swan Telecom director Vinod Goenka, Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra, and three top officials of Reliance ADA Group — Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair — finished their formalities inside the jail before being released, Reliance employees, lawyers, and friends and family of the accused waited patiently outside the jail.
Among them were also Ishaq and Hussain Balwa, relatives of 2G co-accused Shahid and Asif Balwa. “The apex court’s decision is a ray of hope among the accused that they too can hope for relief. The principle behind the court’s decision is quite clear — that an accused is required to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Now the other accused too can believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel and their patience for the last ten months can hopefully now bear fruit,” said Hussain.
Meanwhile, several Reliance employees had also come at the Tihar complex in a show of solidarity. “We are colleagues and have come here in support. There are several cars full of Reliance employees who have come to show their support,” explained Reliance employee Vikas Singla.
The lawyers of the accused welcomed the decision, explaining how it would help them fight the case better. “Earlier we could only interact with them on the jail premises from Monday to Friday between 3.30pm-5.30pm— at which time they would be in the court anyway. The occasion to have legal interviews was difficult and now the cases can be better represented with proper discussions between the lawyers and the accused,” said a lawyer with Reliance ADAG.
The five top corporate executives had been imprisoned for over seven months and left behind television sets at their cells.
The five accused were— Swan Telecom director Vinod Goenka, Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra, and three top officials of Reliance ADA Group — Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair