CBI charge sheets former Air India CMD in software purchase irregularities

New Delhi: The CBI has filed a charge sheet against the then CMD of Air India, SAP India and IBM in connection with alleged irregularities in procurement of software worth Rs 225 crore by the national carrier in 2011, officials said on Sunday.

The CBI has registered the case on the recommendation of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) which found prima facie procedural irregularities in the procurement of the software, according to people in the investigation agency in know of the development.

After nearly six years of probe, the CBI has filed a charge sheet against former CMD Air India Arvind Jadhav, IBM India Private Limited, SAP India Private Limited and six others under the IPC section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, they said.

The CVC, in the note to the CBI, said that initial probe by Air India’s chief vigilance officer shows that the national carrier had selected the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system from SAP AG without following proper tendering procedure.