In an interesting move, Supreme Court appointed a Special Court to undertake the trial proceedings of 2G Spectrum Scam.

Media has played a crucial role in generating heat about this case and it is reflecting in the trial proceedings, if not fully then at least indirectly in ways that can leave us wondering whether the Special Court will be able to carry out a fair trial. For instance, anyone will be taken aback on hearing that the Special Judge was able to take cognizance of the two charge sheets in just 15 to 20 minutes of receiving these documents. The element of surprise here is that one charge sheet was of 127 pages & another of 49 pages with their annexures running over 85000 pages. Now, is it that the Special Judge given some specialized training to read these documents so fast or was there some other reason . . .

It is a shock to see that the Special Court room where the proceedings were taking place in front of the Special Judge was nothing but a room full of indiscipline. People talking, entering, exiting at their free will. One of the lawyers who was representing one of the accuseds in fact remarked that he was appalled to see that this shabby and congested room would be hearing an all-important case on which the whole country’s attention was tuned into.

A thing that surprises the most that in times when the judiciary stresses on granting bail to lessen the burden on jail infrastructure, and given the fact that this very court of this Special Judge has granted bail in similar matters even after filing of the charge sheets, what is it that’s pressurising the Special Court to deny bail to the 2G accuseds.

Legal Fraternity across has expressed its shock over the special judge’s decision. Harish Salve, a prominent lawyer & former Solicitor General of India opines - "My personal view is that this is not a case for which bail can be denied. Today’s development is a worrisome trend" (in Economic Times, Delhi). Another prominent lawyer and a senior advocate, Mahesh Jethmalani said on CNBC TV18, "Bail denial to five accused in 2G Scam surprising!" In such scenario, where people who are well aware of law are feeling strange on the decision taken by Special Court, for a regular citizen it does raise the question on the competency of the Special Court.