HC rejects applications of 5 accused

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday rejected the petitions of five accused, including IAS officer Pradeep Shukla and former minister Babu Singh Kushwaha, for quashing the chargesheets filed against them by the CBI in the multi-crore NRHM scam.

Also, Pradeep Shukla, former principal secretary of Health, was directed to surrender before the trial court in Ghaziabad on or before March 19. Till that time, coercive processes issued by the trial court, like arrest warrant, would remain stayed.

The court passed the order after the CBI, through its counsel Anurag Khanna, opposed Shukla's plea that he be granted interim bail the same day he appeared before the trial court in connection with the second chargesheet filed against him.

The court also directed the UP chief secretary to consider setting up of special courts for expeditious trial of the cases registered in connection with the NRHM scam.

Apart from Shukla and Kushwaha, the other accused who challenged the three chargesheets filed by the CBI were Devendra Mohan and Ravindra Rai, managing director and general manager respectively in the Uttar Pradesh Projects Corporation Limited, and B N Srivastava, the then project manager in UPPCL.

In his judgement, which was reserved on January 24, Justice Sunil Hali said, "It cannot be said that the material facts disclosed in the chargesheet do not disclose commission of cognizable offence. It is to be noted with caution that the court at this stage is only to examine the prima facie evidence and not to analyse the probability of this evidence."

"Mere filing of the chargesheet by itself would not meet the ends of justice unless trial in the matter is concluded expeditiously.Direction is issued to the chief secretary for considering the constitution of special courts to try these types of cases'', the court said. The court gave three months' time to the government for taking a decision.

Noting that there were at least 384 witnesses listed in the chargesheets, the court directed the CBI court to examine the relevance of the witnesses and call only those which are relevant to the trial. But this decision would be taken by the CBI court only after hearing both parties, the court said.

Citing Supreme Court rulings, the court rejected one of Shukla's main arguments that the CBI had not taken prior approval from the department concerned before filing the chargesheet. The court said that when an investigation has been ordered by the high court, the CBI was not bound to take approval of the department. The court noted that the investigations were undertaken by the CBI following a high court order on a PIL.

The CBI has so far filed three chargesheets in connection with the NRHM scam. Two of them mention Shukla and others as accused, while Kushwaha's name has figured in all three. A couple of private companies and the UPPCL were unduly favoured for award of upgrade of work in the district hospitals in lieu of bribe being given to the accused, the chargesheets allege.

The CBI had charged the accused with criminal conspiracy, forgery and other offences of the Indian Penal Code and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

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