Court dismisses bail plea of Bhanot and Verma

OC`s former Secretary General Lalit Bhanot and its ex-Director General V K Verma had moved their bail plea saying CBI had deliberately added harsher penal provision of section 467 (forgery of valuable security) of the IPC against them so that they could get 90-days to file the charge sheet.

The defence counsel, while arguing on the bail plea before Special Judge Talwant Singh, said that section 467 of the IPC has been added as this offence is punishable upto life term.

They said that CBI should have filed the charge sheet against the duo within 60-days, which has already expired, but they have added section 467 of IPC so that they could get 90 days time to file the police report.

They argued that CBI has not told the court about the valuable securities.

Countering the defence counsel, CBI prosecutor V K Sharma said that probe in the case is going on.

"Bail applications of both the accused are dismissed," the court said.

Bhanot and Verma are presently in judicial custody till May 5. They were arrested by CBI on February 23 for alleged irregularities in awarding Rs 107-crore contract to the Swiss firm in procuring the Timing, Scoring and Result (TSR) system for the Commonwealth Games.

CBI has registered a case against the two under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of IPC and various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, along with Switzerland-based firm Swiss Timing Ltd and other unnamed persons.

OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi and two other officials were also arrested in the same case on April 25. They are presently in CBI`s custody till May 4.

Kalmadi, suspended Congress MP from Pune, and the two other officials-- OC Joint Director General (Sport) A S V Prasad and OC Deputy Director General (Procurement) Surjit Lal-- have been booked under sections 120 B (conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the IPC besides other relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.