Patiala August 15:
A special CBI court today rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Punjab Vidhan Sabha speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon in connection with a recruitment scam.
In its order, judge Balbir Singh said the petition filed for anticipatory bail was not maintainable in this court. The court yesterday heard arguments of the prosecution and the defence counsels and reserved today for the order. The Court asked Kahlon to file petition for anticipatory bail in a higher court.
CBI had filed a charge-sheet against Kahlon and 13 others on July 9 for their alleged involvement in large scale irregularities in recruitment of 909 Panchayat Secretaries in Rural Development Department of Punjab government. Kahlon was then the Minister incharge of the department during the previous SAD-BJP government from 1997 to 2002.
The court had already issued directions to start the trial in the case from August 17 in which summons had been issued to Kahlon and other accused. NPS Waraich, Kahlon's counsel, said that at this stage they had two options, either to make Kahlon surrender in the trial court on August 17 or file petition for anticipatory bail in higher court.
Those named in the charge-sheet included Mandeep Singh, IAS, the then director, rural development and panchayats, Punjab and now director, transport, Punjab, J S Kesar, IAS (retired), the then financial commissioner, department of rural development and panchayats, and Vikas Sharma, private secretary (retired) to the minister.
The case was registered on June 26, 2003 against Kahlon and 13 others on the basis of a complaint from the then director, rural development and panchayats, Punjab under sections 120-B, 465, 468, 471 and 201 of Indian Penal Code and section 13(1)(d) r/w 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
It was alleged in the complaint that the minister, in conspiracy with other accused persons, indulged in corruption, cheating and forgery of the records in respect of selection of 909 panchayat secretaries during 1997 to 2002 by abusing their official positions. The allegations about selection of panchayat secretaries were also part of the larger case dated June 14, 2002 of Vigilance Bureau, Punjab in which the accused had been charge-sheeted.