The Supreme Court on Wednesday restrained the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from arresting former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran till September 14 as it smelled a political vendetta in the agency's sudden enthusiasm to nab him for allegedly installing a 300-line telephone exchange for the benefit of family business venture Sun TV .

“The FIR was registered in 2013. Why did you not arrest him for all this time? The investigation is hanging for two years. Your assessment of loss is Rs 1.20 crore. Maran is ready to pay that money to BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd). We are not saying it is not misuse of power. But it is not that kind of corruption that requires arrest,“ said a bench of Justices T S Thakur, V Gopala Gowda and R Banumathi while giving Maran interim protection from arrest.