Day-to-day trial in CWG scam case as per SC verdict

The trial in a CWG related graft scam, in which Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi and nine others are facing prosecution, will be conducted on a day-to-day basis, a special court has said.

This follows the Supreme Court direction to complete cases involving lawmakers within a year.

The court said the ongoing trial in the case, in which the accused had been charge sheeted for "illegally" awarding a contract to install 'Timing, Scoring and Results' (TSR) system for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the exchequer, will go on a daily basis as Kalmadi is a sitting MP.

Special CBI judge Madhu Jain referred to the apex court's March 10 judgement in which it had set a time frame of one year for lower courts to complete the trial in criminal cases involving sitting MPs and MLAs. The apex court had also directed that all such proceedings must be conducted on a day-to-day basis.

"In view of judgement of the Supreme Court on March 10, 2014, the case shall now be taken up on a day-to-day basis as Suresh Kalmadi, accused number one, is a sitting MP of the Lok Sabha," the special CBI judge said.

The court is presently recording the statements of CBI witnesses in the case. The trial in the case had commenced in February last year.

The court had earlier put Kalmadi and nine others on trial in the case and had invoked charges of criminal conspiracy, forgery, cheating and other offences against them that entail the maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

The court had framed charges against Kalmadi, who was sacked as CWG Organising Committee (OC) chairman, and other accused, including OC secretary general Lalit Bhanot, for offences punishable under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the state exchequer.