BJP's former president, Bangaru Laxman who was serving the four year imprisonment which was awarded to him on April 27 in a case dealing with the bribe he accepted for a fictitious defense deal.

"The convict appellant (Bangaru) is enlarged on bail on furnishing of a personal and surety bond of Rs 50,000 each," justice A K Pathak said.

The 72 year old man was taken into the custody in April after the Special court of CBI has convicted him for taking a Rs one lakh bribe from a few undercover journalists in 2001 for supplying equipment to the Indian army under the under the Prevention of Corruption Act awarding a four year sentence and Rs One lakh fine.

On September 4, he applied for a bail on the grounds that he was old and had been suffering from several ailments.

He also said in the plea that he was induced in the sting operation to commit crime which by the high court judgment was prohibited.

Tehelka.com the news portal had exposed the crime on the TV in a sting operation. They were made public on a portal on March 13, 2001. Soon after the president had to quit BJP creating a political instability. Journalists from the portals disguised themselves as dealers based in UK seeking Bangaru's recommendation to the ministry for supply of ‘hand-held thermal imagers’, a fictitious device, for the Indian Army.

The CBI chargesheet showed that Tehelka had conducted eight meetings with the President between December 23, 2000 and January 7, 2001 to expose the corrupt official. Bangaru's former personal secretary T Satyamurthy, who was a co-accused, had been granted pardon by a trial court after he turned an approver in the case.

(AW- Anil)