Kalmadi to walk out of jail after nine months

New Delhi - Suresh Kalmadi, accused of corruption in the Commonwealth Games here, is set to walk out of prison after nine months as the Delhi High Court finally accepted his bail plea Thursday.

Justice Mukta Gupta allowed the bail application of Kalmadi and his aide V.K. Verma for a personal bond of Rs.5 lakhs with two sureties of the like amount subject to the satisfaction of trial court.

But while granting bail, the court told them not to leave India without judicial permission.

Kalmadi, former head of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) who once boasted of bringing the Olympics too to India, is likely to be released at night, his aides said.

The court, taking note of the delay in trial, said there was no evidence that Kalmadi would threaten witnesses or interfere with evidence.

As witnesses had spoken without fear and there was no evidence that they had been intimidated, there was no likelihood of they being threatened.

“There is no allegation that (Kalmadi and Verma) are likely to flee from justice,” said the judge.

Kalmadi was arrested April 25 last year for his alleged role in awarding a contract to set up the Timing-Scoring-Result system to Swiss Times Omega at a cost of Rs.141 crore, allegedly causing a loss of Rs.95 crore to the exchequer.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed the bail plea.

The New Delhi Commonwealth Games, attended by 54 countries, was trailed by controversy, charges of financial mismanagement, bungled preparations, contractual fiasco and mudslinging between those at the helm.

Kalmadi’s bail order evoked mixed responses.

While Congress leader Digvijay Singh said bail was the right of every accused, Balbir K. Punj of the Bharatiya Janata Party said the bail “does not declare Kalmadi innocent”.

IOA vice-president Tarlochan Singh said it was up to Kalmadi to decide whether to return as the IOA chief.

The court observed that the chargesheet was filed on May 2011. Two supplementary chargesheet followed.

Kalmadi and Verma moved the court for bail after the Supreme Court observed in the 2G case that bail must be the rule and jail an exception.

The accused and two companies in the case were charged under the Indian Penal Code for cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery, and booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Seven other accused, including Kalmadi aides Lalit Bhanot and M. Jayachandran, are in Tihar Jail in what was seen as the biggest scandal in India’s sports history .

- IANS