Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Lalit Bhanot and its former Treasurer M. Jeyachandran secured bail on Saturday from a special court hearing the case relating to alleged corruption in the Games Timing, Scoring, and Results System contract on the ground of parity.
Mr. Bhanot and Mr. Jeyachandran had sought bail on grounds of parity with former OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi and former Director-General V.K. Verma already being granted bail a few days ago by the Delhi High Court. The defence counsel argued that the accusations against them were not as serious as those against Mr. Kalmadi and Mr. Verma.
Granting bail, Special Judge Talwant Singh asked Mr. Bhanot to furnish a personal bond of Rs. 5 lakh with two sureties of the same amount, while Mr. Jeyachandran was directed to furnish a personal bond Rs. 2 lakh with two sureties of like amount.
“The accused shall not intimidate any witness after their release on bail. They are directed not to leave the country without obtaining prior permission from this Court,” the judge said.
The same court had on January 4 dismissed the bail pleas of Mr. Bhanot, Mr. Jeyachandran and three others. Hyderabad-based AKR Constructions owner A.K. Reddy, whose bail plea was also dismissed on the same day, moved his bail application on Saturday. It is listed for hearing on Monday.
While the prosecution opposed the grant of bail to Mr. Bhanot and Mr. Jeyachandran, in the case of the latter, the CBI alleged that Mr. Jeyachandran never co-operated with the investigation and absconded initially when non-bailable warrant was issued against him, before surrendering when the CBI put pressure on him.
Denies allegation
Mr. Jeyachandran's counsel rebutted that the allegation of non-cooperation against him should be seen in the context that he refused to toe the line of the CBI and make a confession or turn approver.
