HC STAYS COURT ORDER IN GRAFT CASE AGAINST TOP BABU

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday granted interim stay on the trial court’s order defreezing two bank accounts of a company which is being probed in an alleged graft case against Rajendra Kumar – principal secretary to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal .

Justice PS Teji issued notice to Endeavour Systems Pvt Ltd (ESPL) and directed it to submit response by May 5.

During the brief hearing, the court asked CBI’s counsel about the status of these two bank accounts of the firm.

The CBI’s counsel said, “Part amount have been withdrawn from the account”.

CBI had submitted that the investigation in the case is at a crucial stage and the trial court’s order was bad in law. It had also claimed they have evidence to establish that ESPL was favoured.

CBI had alleged ESPL to have received contracts from Kumar. It had alleged that Kumar had played an “active role in process of promising and facilitating” award of tender to a “predetermined party”, ESPL, due to extraneous consideration.

But, the trial court had castigated CBI for “flouting” procedures and being “conspicuously ambiguous” in the probe into corruption allegations against Kumar and others.

The agency’s raid on the office of Kumar, close to the Chief Minister’s office in the Delhi secretariat on December 15 last year, had triggered a political storm.

CBI had registered a case against Kumar and others on the allegations that he had abused his official position by favouring the firm in the last few years in getting tenders from the Delhi government departments.

Kumar has been booked under section 120-B of the IPC (criminal conspiracy), and under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly favouring the company in five contracts worth `9.5 crore during 2007-14.