Rajasthan Jal Jeevan Mission Scheme: Supreme Court Grants Bail To 'Middleman' In ED Case

While granting the reprieve to Sanjay Badaya, a bench of Justice B R Gavai and Justice K V Viswanathan asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) whether the then minister of the department concerned, on whose behalf the accused allegedly received money, was made an accused in the case.

"Admittedly, the said minister has not been made an accused in the present case," the bench observed.

The ED counsel said the investigation was underway.

The bench granted bail to Badaya observing substantial evidence in the case was documentary in nature and the ED had seized the documents.

It said charges were yet to be framed with over 50 witnesses still to be examined and the evidence ran into about 8,000 pages.

The Centre's water scheme aimed at providing safe and adequate drinking water through household tap connections. It was being implemented in Rajasthan by the state's public health engineering department.

The ED's money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by Rajasthan's anti-corruption bureau.

Premises in Jaipur and Dausa, including the residential and official ones of senior public health engineering department officials, former Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi and former additional chief secretary Subodh Agarwal, were searched by the ED in connection with the probe.

Joshi was a minister in the previous Congress government in Rajasthan.

The Apex Court passed its order on Badaya's plea, filed through Advocate Vivek Jain, challenging the November 11 order of the Rajasthan High Court dismissing his bail plea.

He was arrested by the ED in July.

During the hearing, the bench observed that allegations levelled against Badaya were almost similar to those made against co-accused Piyush Jain who was granted bail by the Apex Court in September.

"You show us what is the role attributed to the present petitioner," the bench asked the ED's counsel, who alleged he was a middleman.

The bench noted Badaya was alleged to have facilitated awards of contract from the public health engineering department and was receiving money on behalf of the then minister of the department concerned.

The probe agency had arrested -- Mahesh Mittal, proprietor of Shree Ganpati Tubewell Company, Padamchand Jain, proprietor of Shree Shyam Tubewell Company, and Piyush Jain.

Badaya, the ED claimed, was "in receipt of bribe" from the accused firms in order to facilitate favourable treatment.

He was also "influencing" officials of the PHE department in carrying out their duties, it claimed.