Former BJP chief Bangaru Laxman granted bail in corruption case

Jailed former BJP president Bangaru Laxman was today granted bail by the Delhi High Court in a case where he is accused of accepting a bribe for facilitating a fictitious defence deal. "The convict appellant (Bangaru) is enlarged on bail on furnishing of a personal and surety bond of Rs. 50,000 each," justice AK Pathak said.

The 72-year old ex-president of the BJP was taken into custody on 27 April to serve a four year imprisonment awarded by a special CBI court for accepting a Rs1-lakh bribe in a sting operation mounted by investigative journal Tehelka in 2001 to fix a fictitious defence contract for supply of equipment to the Indian Army.

On 4 September, Laxman had moved the high court and sought bail in the case on the grounds of his age and the various ailments from which he was suffering.

Additionally he cited a high court judgement that prohibited inducing a person to commit a crime in sting operations.

Laxman was earlier sentenced to a four-year jail term, and a fine of Rs1 lakh, after being convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act for accepting Rs1 lakh bribe from a Tehelka journalist posing as a fake arms dealer in the fictitious deal in 2001.

The sting operation caught Laxman on camera accepting money in his chamber in the party headquarters. He had to step doen as the BJP chief shortly after the expose that had created a huge political storm.