Promoters of Essar Group Anshuman and Ravi Ruia and Loop Telecom promoters IP Khaitan and Kiran Khaitan were granted exemption from personal appearance by a Special CBI court on Wednesday which had summoned the corporate honchos as accused in the multi-crore 2G case.

Special CBI Judge OP Saini granted exemption to the Ruias after their lawyers submitted that that they were outside India and should thus be exempted from personal appearance. The defence counsel of the two other accused — Khaitans moved an application for exemption on health grounds. The CBI did not oppose the four applications.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Parag Tripathi, appearing for Ruias and Khaitans respectively, in two separate pleas taking exemption from personal appearance for their clients on grounds including that they were residents of UAE and they have not been properly served with the summons. Khaitans cited their ‘poor health’ condition as additional ground in support of their exemption pleas. “The case against us is not a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and, moreover, we have challenged the administrative order of the Delhi High Court by which this court was constituted to hear the 2G case,” Rohatgi said.

The judge instructed all the accused to be present in person on the next date of hearing on March 17 and also listed the case ‘for scrutiny of documents on the same date.’ The corporate honchos had failed to appear before the court on December 27 too saying summons were not duly served upon them.

The Supreme Court would hear the matter on March 1 and the outcome would decide the forum and the course of trial against us, he added. “If we win, then this case against us would be tried by a magistrate and if we lose then this matter will proceed before this court,” he said and sought a date of hearing during last week of March.  The apex court had on February 15 refused to grant interim stay on the summons issued to them but agreed to decide the plea challenging the jurisdiction of the Special CBI Court in hearing their case in the absence of corruption charge against them.

Vikas Saraf, Essar Group Director (Strategy and Planning), however, appeared and moved his bail application before the court on Wednesday which asked the CBI to file a reply and posted it for hearing on March 17. The authorised representatives of three firms, Loop Telecom Pvt Ltd, Loop Mobile India Ltd and Essar Tele Holdings which have also been made accused in the case along with their promoters also appeared in the court following the issuance of summons against them.