HC dismisses bail plea of Kolianwali in corruption case
KOLIANWALI SPENT ₹4.10 CRORE IN THE PERIOD BETWEEN 2009 AND 2014, WHICH IS 70% MORE THAN HIS ACTUAL EARNING OF ₹2.39 CRORE
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday dismissed the interim bail plea of Akali leader and former member of the Punjab Subordinate Service Selection Board (PSSSB) Dyal Singh Kolianwali, who was booked by the state vigilance bureau under Prevention of Corruption Act on June 30 for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The bureau had claimed that in the period between 2009 and 2014, Kolianwali — a confidant of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal — held key posts and had a total income of ₹2.39 crore. But during the said period, he allegedly spent ₹4.10 crore on various movable and immovable properties, including other expenditures, which was 70% more than his actual earning, as per the bureau. Kolianwali amassed properties, hotels, agricultural farms in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, senior deputy advocate general Gaurav Garg Dhuriwala had told court.
Kolianwali, on the other hand had alleged victimisation at the hands of Congress government and told the court that for the period during which the bureau was alleging that he amassed disproportionate income, he had filed income tax returns (ITRS).
Dhuriwala had rebutted the claims arguing that the money acquired through illegal means do not get reflected in the ITR. Also ITRS were filed by Kolianwali after income tax department raids on him in 2012, the court was told.
The high court bench of justice Inderjit Singh reserved the judgment for final orders on Monday morning and in the afternoon pronounced judgment dismissing the plea. Detailed order is awaited. Kolianwali had approached high court for bail on July 25.