CWG street lighting scam: HC seeks CBI's reply on convict's plea

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday asked CBI to respond on the bail plea of a MCD Superintendent Engineer, who was sentenced to a four-year jail term after being convicted in the 2010 Commonwealth Games-related street lighting scam.

Justice Indermeet Kaur issued notice to the probe agency on the petition filed by convict DK Sugan and posted the matter for further hearing on January 18. The high court had on November 23 granted bail to three other convicts in the case, including two MCD officials and a private firm's director, who were also sentenced to four years in jail in the first conviction in the CWG-related cases.

The court had enlarged MCD Executive Engineer O P Mahla, the civic body's tender clerk Gurcharan Singh and private firm Sweka Powertech Engineering Pvt Ltd's Director J P Singh on bail. Besides these four convicts, the trial court had on September 2 also awarded a four-year jail term to Accountant Raju V and six years imprisonment to the firm's Managing Director TP Singh. The case relates to CWG street lighting scam which had caused a loss of Rs 1.4 crore to the exchequer.

The convicts were sentenced for various offences, including criminal conspiracy, cheating and using forged documents as genuine of IPC and section 13 (1) (d)(criminal misconduct by public servant by corrupt means and abusing position) of Prevention of Corruption Act. The street lighting scam was one of the 10 graft cases relating to holding of the mega sports event in October 2010.

CBI had said in its charge sheet that tenders were invited by civic agency MCD in 2008 and various companies, including Sweka Powertech had applied for it, while the MCD commissioner had approved only four companies.

As per the charge sheet, after opening of the tenders and announcing of the rates by Sugan, certain cuttings and interpolations in the tender papers of Sweka were made and the amount quoted by it was increased, leading to a loss of about Rs 1.43 crore to the state exchequer and corresponding wrongful gain to the convicts.