COURT GRANTS BAIL TO EXHC JUDGE QUDDUSI IN GRAFT CASE

NEW DELHI: A CBI court on Wednesday granted bail to former Orissa high court judge IM Quddusi, who was arrested earlier this month in connection with an alleged “cash-for-judicial relief scam” involving a Lucknow-based medical institute.

The CBI had opposed Quddusi’s request, claiming his bail could hamper the investigation because it is yet to record the statements of many witnesses in the case. The court, however, let the former judge out on a personal surety of ₹1 lakh.

Defence counsel Vijay Aggarwal told the judge that Quddusi had been a HC judge for 17 years, and, “He has deep roots in the society, and there was no question of him refusing to cooperate with the agency or fleeing from justice.” The CBI, however, dubbed the matter as a “big scam” and accused Quddusi of trying to influence a public servant who is yet to be identified. It had recorded as many as 80 conversations between all the accused.

The CBI FIR states that Quddusi and his alleged associate, Bhawana Pandey, assured representatives of the Prasad Education Trust (which runs the Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences) that they would get their problem settled through connections in the SC. The Lucknow-based medical institute is among 46 colleges barred by the government from admitting students for the next few years owing to “sub-standard facilities and non-fulfilment of various criteria”. The duo then allegedly got in touch with one Biswanath Agrawala from Bhubaneswar, who claimed to be in close contact with senior public functionaries.