Cash-for-job: HC denies bail to former PPSC chairman Ravi Sidhu
Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu, former Punjab Public Services Commission (PPSC) chairman, failed to get any relief from the Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday as the court refused to entertain his bail petition in 11-year-old cash-for-job bribery case.
Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu, former Punjab Public Services Commission (PPSC) chairman, failed to get any relief from the Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday as the court refused to entertain his bail petition in 11-year-old cash-for-job bribery case.
Sidhu, who is at present in Rupnagar jail, was on July 15 sentenced to six years imprisonment and was slapped a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh by the Runagar special trial court.
However, the court headed by justice TPS Mann, on Tuesday, admitted Sidhu’s appeal against the trial court’s order for hearing with the regular cases.
As per the allegations, Sidhu had raised a demand of Rs 35 lakh bribe, on March 24, 2002, from then excise and taxation inspector Bhupjit Singh for selecting him as a Punjab Civil Services (executive) officer. Sidhu was caught red-handed by the Punjab vigilance bureau on March 25, 2002, while accepting Rs 5 lakh bribe money at his residence in sector-39, Chandigarh.
The case was registered at SAS Nagar vigilance bureau police station. When the state vigilance bureau had opened his five bank lockers on April 19, 2002, an amount of Rs 8.19 crore was recovered. It was in November 2002 that the Rupnagar court had framed charges and the trial had begun in the case.
Sidhu, a journalist with national daily, was appointed chairman of PPSC in 1996 because of his close proximity to then Congress chief minister Harcharan Singh Brar.