Virbhadra, wife get bail in DA case
NEWDELHI: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh were on Monday granted bail by a special court in New Delhi in connection with a nearly ~10 crore disproportionate assets case. Special judge Virender Kumar Goyal granted the relief to all the accused on a personal bond of ~1 lakh each and one surety of the like amount. The court asked both the CM and his wife not to leave the country without its prior permission.
EARLIER, THE CBI HAD OPPOSED VIRBHADRA’S BAIL PLEA SAYING THAT HE MAY INFLUENCE WITNESSES AND THE INVESTIGATION
NEW DELHI: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh and wife Pratibha Singh were granted bail by a special court here on Monday in a ₹10-crore disproportionate assets case.
Special judge Virender Kumar Goyal granted the relief to all accused on a personal bond of ₹1 lakh each and a surety of the like amount.
The court, however, asked them not to leave the country without its permission.
Earlier, the CBI opposed the bail plea of the chief minister, saying the accused may influence witnesses and the probe in the case. The public prosecutor said Virbhadra was the “king of the state” and if granted bail, no one will dare come forward to depose against him.
In their bail plea, Virbhadra, who has not been arrested so far, and the other accused submitted that the investigation is complete as the CBI has filed the chargesheet. But the CBI said the investigation in the case was on and granting bail may hamper it.
The 82-year-old politician showed medical reports, saying he was suffering from serious ailments. The accused claimed that they will be able to look after their case in a better manner if they are out on bail. On May 22, Virbhadra and his wife Pratibha appeared as accused in the DA case and sought bail.
The CBI has chargesheeted Virbhadra, his wife, Universal Apple Associate owner Chunni Lal Chauhan, stamp paper vendor Joginder Singh Ghalta, managing director of Tarani Infrastructure Vakamulla Chandrasekhar and co-accused Lawan Kumar Roach, Prem Raj and Ram Prakash Bhatia for alleged offences, including criminal conspiracy, forgery and corruption.
The chargesheet also names as accused LIC agent Anand Chauhan, who was arrested in the case and is in judicial custody.