Uttarakhand HC grants bail to Social Welfare Department official in scholarship scam case

Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday granted bail to joint director of tribal welfare Anurag Shankhdhar, who was arrested two months ago over his alleged involvement in the Social Welfare Department (SWD) scholarship scam case.

A single-judge bench of Justice RC Khulbe granted the bail on a surety bond.

The court observed that at this stage it appears Shankhdhar had transferred the scholarship to concerned Gram Samiti as per the government orders.

"There is no evidence on record at this stage to prove that the accused embezzled the scholarship funds or used the same for own benefits," the court said in the order.

In his bail plea, Shankhdhar had contended that he was falsely being implicated in the crime.

"The SWD transferred the scholarship as per the government order dated July 25, 2006; it was the duty of the concerned Gram Samiti/institute as per the order to transfer the scholarships in the account of beneficiaries (SC, ST, OBCs)," the plea said.

"If irregularity was committed either by the Gram Samiti or by the concerned institute then it was the fault of the said committee or institute. The accused never used the said amount or used it for own benefits," it added.

Uttarakhand Assistant Government Advocate (AGA) TC Aggarwal, on the other hand, argued that it was the duty of the concerned department to verify the facts as to how many students belong to SC/ST community before giving the scholarship funds to the Gram Samiti or institute.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case has accused Shankhdhar of abusing his power to favour private educational institutes and misusing scholarship funds earmarked for students belonging to the SC, ST and OBC community.