CWG graft: OC man gets bail

NEW DELHI: CWG Organizing Committee official M Jayachandran, arrested for alleged financial bungling in the holding of the Queen Baton's Relay (QBR) in London in 2009, was on Wednesday granted bail by the Delhi high court as the CBI said it wanted some more time to file the chargesheet. Jayachandran , OC joint director (Finance), had been arrested by CBI on November 21.

Justice Hima Kohli granted bail to Jayachandran, a key aide of the Commonwealth Games OC chairman, Suresh Kalmadi, following the CBI's failure to wind up the probe and file the chargesheet in the case within the stipulated 60-day period. Jayachandran was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties of the same amount.

During the arguments on his bail plea on January 17, his counsel had pleaded innocence before the court, saying he had “no role which can be termed as a criminal act in the alleged financial irregularities in the QBR” .

The accused was taken into custody months after two other co-accused , T S Darbari and Sanjay Mahendroo, were arrested on November 15. The duo has already secured bail on the ground that CBI had failed to conclude the probe and file a chargesheet.

Jayachandran's counsel had contended that the decision to award the contract for holding QBR was taken by the OC. “I had to only see as to whether the contracts were duly approved or not. I had no other role,” he had said.

The counsel for CBI, however , had opposed the plea and filed certain documents to buttress the charge that the accused had played an active role in the case. The three accused are facing charges of causing losses to the exchequer in award of contract to the tune of Rs 1.55 crore in the holding of the QBR on October 29, 2009, in London.
CBI has registered two cases in connection with contracts awarded to Londonbased AM Films and AM Car and Van Hire Limited allegedly at exorbitant rates.
toireporter@timesgroup .com