Jammu- The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has rejected the bail applications of USBRL project chief engineer Sunit Khajuria and Uttar Pradesh-based private company director Rajesh Kumar Jain, who were arrested last month by the CBI here for bribery.
A single-judge bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar pronounced the order on Tuesday, agreeing with the argument of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) counsel and Senior Additional Advocate General Monika Kohli.
The court had reserved its judgment in the case on March 12.
According to the CBI, Khajuria and Jain were apprehended on February 8 while exchanging bribe money to clear pending bills of Paras Railtech Private Limited, which is involved in construction of the Katara-Dharam section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project.
Jain is one of the directors of the company.
The petitioners were apprehended while delivering and accepting a bribe amount of Rs 9,42,500 (Rs 9.42 lakh).
In addition, Rs 73.11 lakh was recovered from the residential premises of Khajuria which, according to the prosecution, was collected by him from various Railways contractors, including Jain, as illegal gratification.
“In the present case, as already stated, a huge amount of cash has been recovered from the residence of the petitioner — Sumit Khajuria, who has been found to be acting in conspiracy, with petitioner — Rajesh Kumar Jain,” the judge said in a 15-page order.
“The investigation, as is clear from a perusal of the case diary, is at a crucial stage as the investigating agency is yet to ascertain the source of the huge amount that has been recovered from the residence of Khajuria,” Justice Dhar said.
According to the prosecution case, the court said there was strong suspicion that Jain indulged in illegal transactions with Khajuria in the previous past as well.
“All these facts need to be verified during investigation of the case which, to my mind, has not progressed much after the dismissal of bail applications of the petitioners by the special judge (on February 25). Thus, the situation as on date is that investigation of the case is not complete,” the judge said.
The grant of bail to the petitioners, at this stage is, therefore, likely to impact the investigation, particularly because Khajuria is a high-ranking officer of the level of chief engineer and, as such, has the capacity to influence the witnesses and tamper with evidence, he said.
Similarly, Jain holds the position of director in his company and, as such, has the resources and potential to influence further investigation, he said and added grant of bail to the petitioners at this stage would likely thwart the course of justice.
“It is true that this court, being a superior court, has jurisdiction to entertain the bail applications of petitioners even without any change of circumstances after the dismissal of the earlier bail applications by the special judge. However, in the present case the petitioners have not waited even for a week to approach this court after dismissal of their applications by the special judge,” Justice Dhar said.
The court said the bail applications were dismissed by the special judge on February 25 and the present applications were moved on February 27, within two days, without there being an “iota of change in the circumstances”.
“On this ground also the bail applications of the petitioners do not deserve to be allowed,” Justice Dhar said.
The court said the case diary revealed that the investigating agency collected call records of all the key players, including the petitioners, and these records revealed that the petitioners were in touch with each other during the relevant period.
The investigating agency has also collected voice samples of the petitioners and recorded telephone calls between the petitioners inter se and other players involved in the scenario, the court said, adding the voice samples, along with the tape recorded calls, had been sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for analysis.
“There is overwhelming material on record of the case diary which points towards the involvement of the petitioners in the alleged crime. Thus, by no stretch of reasoning it can be stated that the case against the petitioners is frivolous or based on no material,” the judge said.
For the foregoing reasons, he said both the applications were found “without any merit” at this stage and, accordingly, dismissed.
The petitioners shall, however, be at liberty to file fresh bail applications before the special judge after filing of the chargesheet, he said.
He also directed that the case diary be returned to the respondents through CBI counsel Kohli.
