In a classic case of how the CBI handles corruption in high places, a special CBI court in Chennai on Thursday discharged former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother and chairman of the Sun group Kalanithi Maran and five others from all charges.

This was done by the additional sessions judge S Natarajan because the prosecution failed to place sufficient material to establish charges.

The undisputed facts are simple: when Dayanidhi Maran was the telecom minister, 323 high speed BSNL ISDN telephone lines were found installed in his Boat Club Road residence in Chennai in January 2007 and another 400-odd lines in his Gopalapuram residence.

Two other lines in the name of the chief general manager of Chennai Telephones also functioned from Maran’s home. All these telephones were given separate serial numbers which were outside the Chennai telephone system which meant they were beyond billing and accounting.

The 323 high speed lines were linked by underground cable with the Sun TV network which then functioned from Anna Arivalayam, headquarters of the DMK which was then the ruling party of Tamil Nadu.

Besides these, 10 post-paid mobile connections, nine with vanity numbers, were given to Sun TV under service category with no bills raised.

The CBI had estimated that at the prevailing rate of 70 paise per pulse, the 323 ISDN lines for the period they were in service would have cost the BSNL about Rs 450 crore. The installation charges paid by the BSNL amounted to Rs 1.72 crore. The CBI found there was huge data transfer to the Sun television network free of cost.

The DMK was a senior partner in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.

The Maran brothers are grand nephews of M Karunanidhi, patriarch of the DMK. The illegal mini-telephone exchange functioning from one of Maran’s Chennai residences was exposed by a Chennai-based English daily in June 2011.

The Maran brothers threatened to sue the daily for a huge sum for ‘defaming’ them. When the newspaper took up the challenge, the brothers backed out. The UPA government failed to take cognizance of the expose.

The publication had to move the Supreme Court to order the CBI to register an FIR in the misuse of Chennai Telephone by the Maran brothers. The CBI officer who investigated the case was chastised by his superiors and his Chennai team was transferred to distant Delhi.

It is no wonder the “caged” organisation could not find a prosecutor worthy of his calling. Coming out of the CBI court, Dayanidhi said, “It is unfortunate that lies were spread as news and liars were made to look like heroes… but truth has triumphed.” What a travesty of justice!