City court to frame charges against seven persons

A city court on Friday decided to frame charges against seven persons, including four MCD officials and a firm for their alleged roles in the CWG street lighting scam, on February 27, saying it has found prima facie evidence against them. Notably, this will be the first case in the Commonwealth Games scam to enter the framing of charges stage; other CWG scam related cases are still in the pre-charge stage.
Special CBI judge Pradeep Chaddah said a prima facie case exists against the accused persons and ‘let the charges be framed accordingly’. The persons who face the charges in the scam are MCD superintendent engineer DK Sugan, executive engineer OP Mahala, accountant Raju V and civic body’s tender clerk Gurcharan Singh besides director JP Singh and managing director TP Singh of private firm Sweska Powertech Engineers Pvt Ltd, who were allegedly illegally favoured in the award of street-lighting contracts. Another accused Mehul Karnik, an employee of Philips India Pvt Ltd, has, however, been discharged.
The CBI had booked them under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), forgery under IPC and various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The street lightning scam is one of the ten CWG-related scams being probed by the CBI. The agency had in its chargesheet alleged that in view of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the MCD had decided to upgrade street lightening to international standards.
According to the chargesheet, tenders were invited by the civic agency in 2008 and five companies, including Sweska Powertech, applied for it, while the MCD commissioner approved of only three companies. After opening of the tender and announcing of the rates by accused Sugan, certain cuttings and interpolations in the tender papers of Sweska were made and the amount quoted by it was increased, said the CBI in its chargesheet, adding that this led to a wrongful loss of Rs 1,42,83,000 to the Government and corresponding wrongful gain to the accused persons.
Terming MCD superintending engineer Sugan, the senior most official, as the ‘kingpin’ of the conspiracy, the court said tenders were opened in his office on May 14, 2008 and he allowed fudging of Sweska’s tender papers.
The accused Gurcharan also neglected his duty to make entries in the register immediately at the opening of the tenders and the announcement of the rates, leaving room for later manipulations. “Had he noted rates announced by Sugan, it would have become very difficult to change the rates later in the bid document,” the court said, adding that accused Mahla signed the fudged documents and would not have remained a silent spectator without promise of his share in the booty.
The court also said Sweska and its promoters TP Singh and JP Singh have been rightly arrayed as accused as the tender was submitted by their company and the owner of a private company are the direct beneficiaries of any gain made by it.
It, however, discharged Philips India officer Mehul Karnik who the CBI said was present in the same room when the tenders were being opened, as it noted that the company initially participated in the tender process, but ultimately did not submit the tender.