An Indian court Friday granted anticipatory bail to the founders of Essar group and Loop group while charging them with criminal conspiracy in the high-profile case of alleged rigging of a 2008 sale of telecom licenses and bandwidth.
Essar group's Anshuman Ruia and Ravikant Ruia, and Loop's Kiran Khaitan and her husband, Ishwari Prasad Khaitan, had sought bail in the case. They had denied any wrongdoing earlier.
Kiran Khaitan is Ravikant Ruia's sister. The Essar and Loop groups jointly own Loop Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
Trial court judge O.P. Saini also granted bail to Essar executive Vikas Saraf while charging him with criminal conspiracy and cheating.
The court also asked the two Essar group founders to submit sureties of 500,000 rupees ($8,990) each and submit their passports.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Loop Telecom, the Essar group and some of their founders benefited from the alleged irregularities in the license and bandwidth sale.
The CBI has said the companies created a "complex corporate veil" to conceal that Essar, with substantial shares in a telecom firm, also had a stake of more than 10% in Loop Telecom, violating cross-ownership rules.
Essar and Loop have separately moved the Supreme Court of India, challenging the trial court's jurisdiction to try its founders' saying the charges against them weren't for corruption. The apex court is yet to decide on this plea.
Essar group's Anshuman Ruia and Ravikant Ruia, and Loop's Kiran Khaitan and her husband, Ishwari Prasad Khaitan, had sought bail in the case. They had denied any wrongdoing earlier.
Kiran Khaitan is Ravikant Ruia's sister. The Essar and Loop groups jointly own Loop Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
Trial court judge O.P. Saini also granted bail to Essar executive Vikas Saraf while charging him with criminal conspiracy and cheating.
The court also asked the two Essar group founders to submit sureties of 500,000 rupees ($8,990) each and submit their passports.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Loop Telecom, the Essar group and some of their founders benefited from the alleged irregularities in the license and bandwidth sale.
The CBI has said the companies created a "complex corporate veil" to conceal that Essar, with substantial shares in a telecom firm, also had a stake of more than 10% in Loop Telecom, violating cross-ownership rules.
Essar and Loop have separately moved the Supreme Court of India, challenging the trial court's jurisdiction to try its founders' saying the charges against them weren't for corruption. The apex court is yet to decide on this plea.