Four get bail in graft case against HC ex-judge

A local court on Friday granted bail to four accused in a graft case against retired Orissa High Court Judge I.M. Quddusi, accused of helping an Uttar Pradesh-based educational trust barred from admitting medical course students for two years.

Special Court Judge Manoj Jain granted bail to B.P. Yadav, Palash Yadav, Vishwanath Agrawala, and Ram Dev Saraswat, who were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on September 20 along with Quddusi.

On September 27, the court granted bail to Quddusi and one-week interim bail to woman co-accused Bhawana Pandey on humanitarian grounds, observing her four-year-old son is suffering from autistic spectrum disorder and requires constant care and protection.

On the ground of parity, the court on Friday granted bail to the four co-accused asking them to furnish personal bonds and sureties of Rs one lakh each.

The court directed them to surrender their passports and not leave the country without permission.

The court also directed them to join investigation, as and when called, and not contact the witnesses directly or indirectly

The CBI opposed the bail plea and told the court that the accused might tamper with evidence.

Saraswat's counsel Vijay Aggarwal told the court that the custodial interrogation of the accused had already been done and no useful purpose would be served be keeping him behind bars. He also cited Saraswat's poor health.

The agency had registered a case of criminal conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused on September 19 and conducted raids at eight locations in Delhi, Lucknow, and Bhubaneswar.

During the raids, including at Quddusi's residence in south Delhi's Greater Kailash area, the CBI seized Rs 1.91 crore, including Rs 1 crore from alleged middleman Agrawala, and Rs 91 lakh from others.

The CBI FIR said B.P. Yadav and Palash Yadav were managing the Lucknow-based Prasad Educational Trust, which runs the Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences.

The institute is among 46 colleges barred by the government from admitting medical course students for two years (till 2019) because of substandard facilities and non-fulfilment of criteria.

--IANS

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