Jharkhand police trying to ‘save’ accused in toll plaza graft case: HC
The court also turned down the arguments of Alam, Mishra and the state government against ED being made a respondent in the matter, and directed the agency along with the CBI to file counter affidavits in two weeks, and posted the matter for December 22.
The Sahebganj district police in Jharkhand did not submit its charge sheet against rural development minister Alamgir Alam and Pankaj Mishra, an aide of chief minister Hemant Soren, to “save” the two politicians in a case related to alleged irregularities in the tender of a toll plaza, the high court has noted.
Allowing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to be made a respondent in a criminal writ petition filed by one Sambhu Nandan, the complainant in the tender case seeking a CBI probe, a bench of justice Sanjeev Kumar Dwivedi said ‘prima facie it appears that he (minister Alam) threatened the petitioner’ not to participate in the tender process and its a ‘concern for court’.
The court also turned down the arguments of Alam, Mishra and the state government against ED being made a respondent in the matter, and directed the agency along with the CBI to file counter affidavits in two weeks, and posted the matter for December 22.
“....considering the submissions of the parties, prima facie, it appears that only to save the respondent Nos. 8 and 9, (Alamgir Alam and Pankaj Mishra), chargesheet has not been submitted against them... what was the reason of not submitting the chargesheet against two respondents is a matter of concern,” the court said.