New Delhi: A special court on Monday accepted a closed report filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case against Suresh Kalamdi, former chairman of the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organizing Committee.
The Games were hosted in Delhi from 3 to 14 October 2010. Every aspect of this, from the beautification of the capital to the management of sports, was entangled in a dispute over allegations of mismanagement and irregularities, which began by a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report of India.
At that time, according to media reports, at least 19 first information reports (FIRs) were registered regarding irregularities. However, an observation of cases has spread over 15 years, indicating that no one is able to decide the responsibility for ‘scam’.
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At least two are guilty. However, the appeal filed by the accused is pending in the Delhi High Court, in which the culprits are on bail. At least 12 cases have been discontinued, and another 5 tests are pending in courts.
The first sentence was in August 2015, in a cedar related to upgradation of street lighting in Delhi. Overall, 6 people were found guilty. It consisted of four MCD officers- Promolor Superintendent Engineer DK Sugan, Executive Engineer OP Mahala, Accountant Raju V. And tender clerk Gurkaran Singh as well as JP Singh and TP Singh, Director of Rajouri Garden-based company, who received contracts for the project.
The accused contacted the Delhi High Court, which suspended the sentence over the next few months and granted them bail, given that “there was no possibility of listening to the appeals in the near future”. While the accused are out on bail, the appeal is pending.
In May 2017, another conviction in a case related to upgradation and renewal of two stadiums was convicted- Shivaji Stadium and Talkatora Stadium. The court sentenced two directors to two-and-a-half years in jail- Raza Aderi and Uday Shankar Bhat- The contracts of the firm that were given.
However, two months later, in July 2017, the Delhi High Court temporarily suspended its sentence, and confirmed the suspension in January 2018. The appeal is pending.
Case against Kalamdi
The ED case against Kalamdi was launched on the basis of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) complaint filed in August 2012. It has been named the then CWG Chief Operating Officer, VK Gautam, CWG Treasurer, AK Mattu and General Secretary of the Games Organizing Committee, Lalit Bhanot, as well as the CEO of M/SITS NCORONEGEGE (EKS Evonies).
The case included two important work contracts for the incident and allegations of misconduct in execution- Games Workforce Service (GWS) and Games Planning, Project and Risk Management Services (GPPRMS).
However, the CBI filed a closure report in January 2014, which was said that due to lack of evidence during the investigation. The closure report was accepted by a special judge in Patiala House Court in February 2016.
The ED’s closure report on Monday stated that its findings were in line with the findings of the CBI in the case, and stopped the prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against the above accused including Kalmadi.
In 2010, another FIR against Kalamdi was filed by another FIR due to alleged loss of more than Rs 90 crore, due to an attractive contract provided to the Swiss company for setting up a timing-scoring-result (TSR) system for the Commonwealth Games at an additional cost.
The CBI filed a charge sheet in the case in May 2011, in which Kalmadi is called the “main accused” in the case, and posts two supplementary charge sheets. These charge sheet named 8 other people, including Lalit Bhanot and then Director General of CWG Organizing Committee VK Verma, as well as two companies.
However, the evidence in the case has been in operation since 2013, most of the witnesses are government officials who have retired or have been transferred. The case has surfaced at least 670 times before the court, but the case is still pending.
Pending matters
Apart from the case against Kalamdi, there are at least four cases related to sports which are currently pending before the courts in Delhi.
A test related to alleged irregularities in merchandising and retailing is currently in the evidence of the prosecution. Six former CWG Organizing Committee officials, along with two firms and their director, are accused in the case.
Arguments are being heard in another test related to the venue overlay -temporry features at various places provided during the operational phase of the Games. The FIR in the case was filed in 2011, but the court finally took cognizance of crimes in October 2022 itself.
A third case belongs to the ‘Rani Ke Baton Relay’, which goes worldwide after the beginning at Buckingham Palace in London. While two FIRs were filed alleging financial irregularities in the relay, the CBI filed a joint charge sheet in the case.
The test is currently in the evidence phase of the prosecution, and especially difficult because at least three witnesses live in London. In July last year, the court allowed a CBI application to record evidence from these foreign witnesses through video conferencing.
In January this year, the court received a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs, along with questions on the possible period of evidence and other details. The letter also informed the process which will be followed during the hearing. On March 4, the CBI told the court that at least 115 days were required to broadcast details through MHA and record evidence of the proposed witnesses. The court allowed the period this time.
A fourth pending case was registered by the ED against Edri and Bhat, in which the allegations related to the upgradation and renewal of Tocora and Shivaji stadiums were related. It was only in December last year that the court took cognizance of the ED’s complaint, and ordered that Adari and Bhat be called. Hence the case is scheduled to start the test.
10 FIRs closed by 2014
According to timely media reports, at least 10 FIRs related to the CWG ‘scam’ were closed by 2014.
These included a case filed against 10 Delhi Development Authority (DDA) officials on alleged financial irregularities for the construction of badminton and squash court at Siri Fort Stadium. The CBI closure report was accepted in May 2014.
The same month, the court accepted another CBI closed report in a case related to production and coverage contracts for sports. The special court also accepted another closure report in May 2014 in the FIR related to broadcasting networking services during the game.
In April 2014, Dr. Another case related to the upgradation and renewal of Syima Prasad Mukarji Swimming Pool Complex was closed after accepting the CBI shutdown report.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)