Providing a breather to families of two of the accused in the Everonn graft case, the Madras high court on Tuesday granted bail to P Kishore, managing director, Everonn Education Limited and businessman Uttam Chand Bohra, charged with being a middleman. Passing orders, Justice K B K Vasuki included the condition that Kishore not be allowed to visit his office for three weeks, on a request from N Chandrasekaran, special public prosecutor for CBI cases.

Along with Andasu Ravindar, additional commissioner, Income Tax, Chennai, all three accused were lodged at Puzhal Central Prison for 21 days since the principal special court for CBI cases dismissed their bail pleas on September 13.

The case, lodged by the Anti-Corruption Bureau(ACB) of the CBI, charges Ravindar with accepting a bribe of Rs 50 lakh to suppress details of Everonn's taxable income to the tune of about Rs 60 crore. Bohra, a resident of Sowcarpet, was arrested allegedly while trying to help Ravindar transport the money to a safe haven.

In her order, Justice Vasuki said that considering the nature of the allegations raised against the petitioners, the circumstances in which they were implicated in the case, the stage of the investigation, the recovery of the amount from Ravindar and also the period of detention undergone by the petitioners, the court was of the view that it would not prejudice the case if Kishore and Bohra were released on bail. They were not likely to tamper with evidence, the order added.

Both men were granted bail on the condition that they furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties to the satisfaction of the principal special judge for CBI cases. They would have to appear before the CBI, ACB, at 11 am every day for two weeks and thereafter, as and when required.

"We plan to appeal against the order of the lower court granting permission for CBI to take voice samples of the accused. These samples cannot be used as legal evidence during the course of an investigation. There is an earlier order from the Delhi high court to this effect," said Abudu Kumar Rajaratnam, counsel for the petitioner.

Following Kishore's arrest on August 30, his company went through a series of changes starting with J J Irani resigning from the board of directors on September 3. The company's stock also plummeted 20%, the maximum permissible limit, in the market. It fell by the same margin three days later. The firm's state of affairs has also attracted the attention of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the regulatory body of chartered accountants, which has asked Everonn Education Limited for its books to scrutinize the company's accounts. (Times of India)