In a clear attempt to preempt the reported move to close corruption cases against its former CEO B S Lalli and some others, the Prasar Bharati has written to the CBI listing all the charges against them so that the agency could carry out its probe on the basis of “material on record”.

Although it has not said so explicitly, the purpose behind Prasar Bharati’s communication to the CBI is to discourage any attempt to close the cases which relate to alleged irregularities in the awarding of broadcast rights for the 2010 Commonwealth Games to a private entity called SIS Live. The closure of cases would weaken Prasar Bharati’s stand in an arbitration proceeding with SIS Live, which is seeking to withhold payments and damages worth more than Rs 230 crore.

As its defence at the arbitration proceedings, the Prasar Bharati — that is now run by an entirely new administration — has argued that the decisions related to the contract with SIS Live, and changes made therein, were taken by the then DG of Doordarshan Aruna Sharma under the supervision of Lalli in an “unauthorised” manner, which is the subject matter of investigation by the CBI. If the CBI closes the cases against Lalli and others, and gives them a clean chit, Prasar Bharati’s defence at the arbitration panel is likely to collapse.

Lalli, who had a highly controversial tenure as CEO of Prasar Bharati and was indicted by the CVC in some other cases, is accused of committing fraud and criminal conspiracy in the award of these rights. This particular case was referred to the CBI by the Prime Minister’s Office on the basis of the findings of the Shunglu Committee report on the expenditure incurred on the Commonwealth Games.

The CBI had, last month, indicated that it was about to file closure reports in the cases, apparently after coming to the conclusion that the allegations against Lalli could not be substantiated and that its probe had not revealed any shortcomings in the award of the contract.

The CBI has not informed the Prasar Bharati about any such step it intends to take. But Prasar Bharati, taking note of reports that appeared in newspapers including The Indian Express, wrote twice to the CBI, on July 3 and July 5, presenting the facts of the case and the entire background of the charges against Lalli and Aruna Sharma.

“These facts are being apprised to you to enable you to conclude your investigation based on the material on record. Our officers would be available for interaction should any clarification be considered necessary,” says the Prasar Bharati’s July 5 letter to CBI which has been seen by The Indian Express. Sources in Prasar Bharati maintained that there was merit in the charges against Lalli and claimed that key functionaries within the organisation had not even been questioned by the CBI to get full and correct information related to the cases.

Behind the proactive move that the Prasar Bharati has taken, however, is the need to save itself from paying more than Rs 230 crore to SIS Live if the decision of the arbitration panel goes against it. Prasar Bharati has withheld payment of Rs 107.24 crore to SIS Live accusing it of breach of contract.

After that, SIS Live invoked the arbitration clause in the contract and sought not just this money but also over Rs 100 crore in damages.