Jagmohan Dalmiya, chairman of the Calcutta-based M.L. Dalmiya & Company, has had more than his share of glory. The chairman of the construction and infrastructure development company was the first Asian to be elected president of the International Cricket Council. For years, Dalmiya as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was a power to be reckoned with. Now 64, he turned around BCCI financially. When he became BCCI’s honourary secretary in September 1993, it was in the red by Rs 83 lakh. When he moved out as BCCI’s president in 2004, he says, the cricket organisation had a surplus of over Rs 100 crore.

Dalmiya is now again under the arc lights ? for all the wrong reasons.

Last week, he and former BCCI officials S.K. Nair, Kishor Rungta and Jyoti Bajpai were interrogated for days by the Mumbai police after Niranjan Shah, the current BCCI secretary, filed a police complaint on March 16 accusing Dalmiya of misappropriating Rs 21.74 lakh from BCCI over the last eight months and of criminal breach of trust. If convicted, Dalmiya and his former colleagues could be staring at jail terms of up to three years. Fearing arrest, Dalmiya has obtained anticipatory bail from the Bombay High Court.

Dalmiya and his men were ousted from most positions in BCCI after last year’s elections ? he, however, is still a member of the working committee ? by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and his nominees and Dalmiya blames the new BCCI administration for his plight. “The present administrators in the BCCI have been carrying out a vilification campaign against the petitioner only with a view to seek vengeance (sic) against him,” he said in his bail petition to the Bombay High Court.

What precisely is Dalmiya accused of? When contacted, Dalmiya said he had been “ instructed by my lawyers not to speak as the matter is sub judice”. S.K. Nair, former BCCI secretary, said: “It’s unfortunate that such things are happening in what was the best administered sports body in the country.” He added that he would respond to the charges “at an appropriate time. Just wait for a few days”.

But documents filed in court which The Telegraph obtained suggest that both sides have levelled a welter of accusations and counter-accusations.

The current matter is complicated and rooted in the World Cup of 1996, jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. According to Shah’s complaint, the three countries set up a Pakistan-Indo-Lanka committee (PILCOM), to enter into contracts. PILCOM opened an account with Citibank in London. This was to be operated jointly by Dalmiya, then BCCI secretary, and a nominee of the Pakistan cricket board. In turn, BCCI formed a committee, INDCOM, and Dalmiya opened an account with Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Bhowanipore, Calcutta (account number 1223), where he resided, to deposit money and to give prize money to the teams. This account was later renamed the World Cup 1996 account. BCCI, according to the complaint, deposited crores of rupees in the account and Dalmiya operated the account for 10 years till he closed it in February this year.

Shah has accused Dalmiya of several matters. Among them:

• Over the last eight months, Dalmiya used Rs 21.74 lakh from BCCI’s IOB account in Calcutta , for travel, to meet hotel bills, for telephone bills and for transport. This was BCCI money and he was entitled to use it only for expenditure BCCI had sanctioned. So Dalmiya “acted in a manner detrimental to the interests of the Board,” Shah’s complaint states.

• On February 2 this year, Dalmiya asked IOB to close the account. He had no authority to do so.

• On February 7, he sent two demand drafts for over Rs 9.67 lakh and Rs 8 lakh and asked the bank to cancel the drafts and issue pay orders in the name of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), of which he is the president. In other words, BCCI money was diverted to the CAB.

• Varying sums of money were transferred from the account over a period of time to several entities unconnected to BCCI. For example, at the request of K.M Choudhury, who the complaint claims is a Dalmiya employee, and on Dalmiya’s letter head, over Rs 4.98 lakh was transferred to S.G. Traders in October 2005. BCCI had not authorised Choudhury to withdraw money from the account. Indeed, alleges the complaint, more than Rs 1.50 crore was withdrawn from the account over 10 years without any BCCI authorisation. The complaint demands a detailed investigation of the account for the 10 years during which Dalmiya was the authorised signatory.

The account continued to be operated even after the World Cup because BCCI faced income tax cases relating to PILCOM and Dalmiya was authorised to foot the bill for these cases from the money in the account. But no accounts were ever placed before the BCCI working committee or general body for this money, Shah’s complaint also alleges.

Dalmiya has not yet filed a detailed public rejoinder to all this, but his application to the high court for anticipatory bail does offer a broad defence.

First of all, the IOB account was an imprest account, meant to meet establishment and day-to-day expenses. This account was regularly checked by BCCI’s auditors, S.B. Billimoria & Company, every year and the accounts were merged with BCCI’s accounts and approved at BCCI’s annual general meetings. The IOB account was never a PILCOM account.

Secondly, after I.S. Bindra completed his term as BCCI president in 1996, he levelled allegations at Dalmiya to the effect that he (Dalmiya) had siphoned money from the PILCOM account. Government agencies and the Reserve Bank of India investigated the matter and in 1997 cleared Dalmiya of diverting money from PILCOM’s account to his personal bank account.

Thirdly, all members of BCCI were informed of the status of the income tax cases relating to PILCOM and this was placed before and approved at BCCI’s annual general meetings. “The notes to accounts duly approved in various annual general meetings reveal that there was total transparency observed by the petitioner,” Dalmia’s bail application says.

Fourthly, there had been no dispute over the accounts he presented with respect to the maintenance and operation of the IOB account till the recent past.

Finally, Dalmiya closed the IOB account because he was not supposed to act on BCCI’s behalf with respect to the income tax cases after the new regime took over.

Dalmiya has also fired a broadside at the current BCCI administration: On January 23 this year, at the BCCI working committee meeting, allegations were levelled at Dalmiya. Despite his refuting them, a three-member committee was set up to look into the PILCOM account.

After Dalmiya was stripped of his position as PILCOM “conveyor” secretary, BCCI treasurer N. Srinivasan was appointed in his place. But Srinivasan’s appointment did not have the concurrence of the Pakistan cricket board. And though Srinivasan was authorised to operate the PILCOM account, he overstepped his duties by interfering with the IOB account.

The Bombay High Court will decide the truth of these matters.

Run up to a court joust

Jagmohan Dalmiyar

Sharad Pawar

2005 Sharad Pawar is elected BCCI president. The Dalmiya camp is routed.

January 23, 2006 BCCI’s working committee removes Dalmiya as convenor secretary of PILCOM, as the authorised signatory of the PILCOM account in London and of an IOB account in Calcutta. Dalmiya is replaced by BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan. Dalmiya is asked to hand over all documents relating to these accounts in seven days.

February 14 BCCI internal auditor reaches Dalmiya’s office in Calcutta and is handed 27 files relating to income tax cases, and an IOB bank statement for April 2005 to February 2006. The auditor notices that the IOB bank account had been closed. Dalmiya says he closed the account since he is no longer authorised to act on BCCI’s behalf with regard to income tax cases.

February 18 Srinivasan submits a note to BCCI alleging that Dalmiya has misappropriated money from the account, including Rs 21.74 lakh spent on travel, hotel and telephone bills. Dalmiya says the allegations are false and defamatory.

February 21 At a working committee meeting, Dalmiya asks for seven days to reply to the allegations.

February 27 BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah issues a show cause notice to Dalmiya.

March 7 Dalmiya seeks a stay in the Calcutta civil court on the show cause notice. The court grants an interim stay the next day. BCCI approaches the high court and the stay is vacated.

March 16 Shah files a police complaint against Dalmiya in Mumbai.

March 21 Dalmiya seeks and gets anticipatory bail from the Bombay High Court.