HC upholds bail granted to Sanjeev Chawla in match fixing scandal

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court Wednesday upheld a trial court’s decision to grant bail to Sanjeev Chawla, an alleged bookie and key accused in one of the cricket’s biggest matchfixing scandals that involved former South African captain Hansie Cronje.

Justice Asha Menon, who pronounced the order through video conferencing, rejected the Delhi Police plea challenging the bail.

Chawla, who was extradited from London in February, was granted bail by the trial court here on April 30 on furnishing of a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh and two sureties of the like amount. He had sought bail saying that due to the COVID19 pandemic, there is a risk of getting infected with the virus in jail where it is difficult to maintain social distancing.

Challenging the trial court’s bail order, the police sought cancellation of his bail on the ground that Chawla is a British national and it took 20 years to bring him back to India and there is likelihood of the his fleeing from justice.

The police, represented by ASG Sanjay Jain and additional public prosecutor Kewal Singh Ahuja, said the guidelines with respect to COVID-19 and release of undertrial prisoners are not applicable to Chawla in light of his alleged conduit role in the match fixing.

Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Chawla, opposed the police’s plea saying his client never applied for bail in 60 days which showed he was cooperating with the prosecuting agency.