New Delhi: The Delhi High Court yesterday granted bail to all five accused in the 2009 cash-for-votes scandal.

"All the petitioners are granted bail on furnishing of personal and surety bond of Rs200,000 (Dh14,476) each," Justice M.L. Mehta said.

The court also granted anticipatory bail to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Ashok Argal and directed all petitioners to cooperate in the investigation. Argal, who has been charged with accepting a bribe, has not been arrested yet as the mandatory permission to prosecute him came late from the Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.

Those granted bail yesterday were Sudheendra Kulkarni, the former media advisor of ex-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former BJP lawmakers Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahabir Singh Bhagora. Sanjeev Saxena, the former aide of Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh and BJP activist Suhail Hindustani.

Amar Singh was earlier granted bail on medical grounds.

The BJP lawmakers Argal, Kulaste and Bhagora are accused of receiving a bribe, Amar Singh is accused of organising the bribe money, while his aide Saxena is accused of delivering the money. Hindustani was the middleman in the bribery case. Kulkarni, who worked as adviser to former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani at that time is accused of masterminding the bribery.

Murkier side of politics

The entire episode was brought to light by a private television channel in a sting operation, which Kulkarni claimed was to expose the murkier side of Indian politics.

The three BJP lawmakers stunned the nation when they waved wads of currency notes, totalling Rs10 million (Dh 7195400, in the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2008, just before the trust vote that the Manmohan Singh government had sought after the Left Front had withdrawn its support to his government over the contentious Indo-US civil nuclear deal. They said they were paid the money as an advance to abstain from voting against the government.

The High Court gave a reprieve to all six accused after Delhi Police told the court it had no objection to bail as the investigation was over and they were no longer needed for custodial interrogation.

Kulkarni as well as Amar Singh, Kulaste and Bhagora were arrested in September. Saxena and Hindustani were the first to be arrested in the case after the Supreme Court warned Delhi Police over insincere investigation.