Court rejects ex-IAS officer's plea over security money

A court here today rejected a petition filed by former IAS officer Sanjay Gupta, an accused in multi-crore Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Metro rail scam case, in which he sought interest on Rs one crore, which he had deposited as security money in the high court as bail condition.
Gupta is an accused in the Rs 113-crore metro rail scam. He was granted bail by the Gujarat High Court on April 5 this year, on condition that he deposits security money of Rs one crore.
He had recently moved a sessions court here seeking interest money on Rs one crore deposited by him in the high court. However, Sessions Judge H J Joshi rejected the plea by upholding the argument made by the government pleader that the matter was not under the jurisdiction of the local court.

The government pleader had argued that the money deposited by Gupta is in the custody of the high court, which had granted him bail in the case, and hence the sessions court was not the right authority.
Gupta, who served as the executive chairman of the state-owned Metro-Link Express for Ahemdabad and Gandhinagar (MEGA), was arrested by the CID-Crime last year on allegations that financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 113 crore took place during his tenure in MEGA in 2012.
The CID had booked Gupta and seven others for siphoning off around Rs 113 crore by presenting forged bills and bogus documents related to ground filling work carried out near Bhat village for Metro project in 2012.

He is also an accused in another scam of Rs 2.62 crore related to MEGA, in which the company's former manager Radhesh Bhatt was charged with siphoning off Rs 2.62 crore through forged invoices from 2012 to 2013. His bail plea in this particular case will be heard at a Gandhinagar court tomorrow.
Gupta cannot be released from jail till he gets bail in the second case.
He had quit IAS in 2003 to start his own business. He was appointed in MEGA by the Gujarat government after he quit government service.