Dalmiya case hearing adjourned

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former ICC and BCCI president, got a further reprieve after the Mumbai Metropolitan court adjourned the hearing for the case filed against him by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police for alleged embezzlement of funds from the 1996 World Cup jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The court set June 16 as the next date of hearing after Dalimya's lawyers asked for more time to study the case.

Last month the court had granted Dalmiya bail after the EOW had filed a chargesheet accusing him of misappropriating funds to the tune of Rs 2.9 crore (approx US$725,000). It alleged that Dalmiya diverted funds from a bank account in Kolkata that was originally set up for paying legal fees towards various other expenses. There was a "technical arrest" but Dalmiya received a swift bail after he said he would produce surety of Rs 25,000 ($625).

Dalmiya was absent from the hearing on Friday but his lawyer Satish Maneshinde said his client had been granted exemption from personal apperance. "The surety bonds were furnished in front of the court and since he [Dalimiya] had to attend to some pujas [religious ceremonies], we requested the court that there was no impediment in granting him exemption."