Stay on corrupt babu's bail order

Delhi HC stays the release of former chief secretary of UP, Akhand Pratap Singh, reports Bhadra Sinha.

The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed the release of former chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh, Akhand Pratap Singh, after the CBI moved an urgent application seeking cancellation of his bail in a disproportionate assets case.

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Additional solicitor general (ASG) PP Malhotra made a special mention of CBI's application before the bench headed by Chief Justice, MK Sharma.

Allowing the plea, the Chief Justice directed the court of Justice VB Gupta to hear the application on Monday itself.

Malhotra requested the court to hear the application though the agency did not have the trial court judgement granting bail to Singh, as its copy had not been supplied to the CBI.

Before Justice Gupta's court, Malhotra said Singh's release would hamper the investigations that is still at an initial stage.

The court has issued notice to Singh on CBI's petition to cancel his bail.

According to the CBI, Singh had in 2005 acquired as many as 84 immovable properties in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand worth around Rs 200 crore.

He is also accused of forging the signatures of his dead father and a friend for transferring the properties and routing financial transactions through several fictitious bank accounts.

Singh, a high profile former bureaucrat, was once voted the most corrupt officer by the Uttar Pradesh IAS association.

A city court had on Friday ordered release of Singh after his counsel contended that no purpose would be served by extending his judicial custody.

Special CBI judge, Indermeet Kaur Kochchar, after hearing the arguments on bail application had granted regular bail to Singh on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakhs and a surety of Rs 2 lakhs.