Sreesanth and Chavan given bail

Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan, two of the three Rajasthan Royals players arrested on charges of alleged spot-fixing, have been granted bail by a trial court in Delhi on Monday. Seventeen others arrested in relation to the case were also given bail.

The 19 accused will be released from Tihar Jail on Wednesday, but have been asked to surrender their passports.

Ajit Chandila, the third Royals player under arrest, has not applied for bail yet.

The judge said the Delhi Police had not produced enough evidence to charge the players under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), a special law passed by the Maharashtra state government to tackle organised crime syndicates and terrorism which contains far stricter provisions relating to bail and admissibility of confessions compared to the Indian Penal Code.

Sreesanth, Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested on May 16, following which they were suspended by the BCCI pending an inquiry. They were charged under the Indian Penal Code sections 420 and 120B, which deal with fraud, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. Royals also suspended the contracts of all three players, who were allegedly promised money ranging from US$36,000 to 109,000 by bookies for under-performing.