Dayalu Ammal, wife of DMK chief M Karunanidhi and a key prosecution witness in the 2G case, today approached the Supreme Court, seeking its direction to exempt her from deposing before the Special CBI Court on medical grounds.

She filed her plea before the apex court challenging the trial court’s order refusing to exempt her from appearing as a witness in the case.

82-year-old Ammal had earlier approached the Delhi High Court but it had on July 4 asked her to move the apex court for relief.

The high court had also asked CBI to ensure that no coercive order is passed by the trial court till lunch time on Monday, July 8, the day when Ammal has been summoned to appear before the trial court as a prosecution witness.

The high court had asked Ammal to move the apex court as the 2G case is being monitored by it.

Ammal, in her plea before the high court, had contended that she has been diagnosed with cognitive and behavioural abnormalities in June last year and that she is progressively and gradually losing recognition of even her near and dear ones.

It was also submitted that due to her physical and mental condition, Ammal is prone to “abrasive behaviour, clumsy habit with sudden hitting or punching people, inappropriate talk and action and inability to take care of day-to-day activities”.

The trial court had on May 31 dismissed Ammal’s exemption plea, saying she is an “important witness” as she was a director in Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd in which an alleged bribe amount of Rs 200 crore was received.

Ammal had approached the trial court seeking exemption from personal appearance as a witness and to dispense with her presence in the case citing her ailments.

The trial court’s order assumed significance as Karunanidhi’s daughter and DMK MP Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, Managing Director of the TV channel, are facing trial in the case along with former Telecom Minister A Raja, DB Realty Ltd MD Vinod Goenka and others.

CBI had, in its charge sheet, discussed the routing of over Rs 200 crore illegal gratification from M/S Dynamix Realty to Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd through M/S Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd.

In its first charge sheet filed on April 2, 2011, CBI had said the money had travelled through a “circuitous route” through Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, a DB group company and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd, to Kalaignar TV in which Dayalu Ammal, Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar were having 60, 20 and 20 per cent shares respectively.

Ammal was not named as an accused in the case by CBI which had said due to her advanced age and “non-understanding” of any language other than Tamil, she was only fulfilling the legal requirements of Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd in which she is one of the Directors.

CBI had said Ammal had delegated her power to Sharad Kumar to run the company’s affairs.

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