A Delhi court has rejected a petition filed by the CBI questioning its jurisdiction to hear an anticipatory bail plea by former Medical Council of India (MCI) president Ketan Desai in a fresh corruption case lodged against him in Chennai.
“Fix the bail application for hearing on July 12,” special judge O. P. Saini said, dismissing CBI’s contention that it was not within his jurisdiction as the offence was committed outside the territorial bounds of the Delhi court.
Being a special court to deal with cases lodged under the Prevention of Corruption Act, it was very much competent to hear the plea, the judge said.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra has filed the bail plea, apprehending arrest of Desai in connection with a fresh corruption case lodged against him recently in Chennai.
Desai is also facing charges of irregularities in giving sanction to a Punjab-based private medical college, while another case against him pertains to allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
He is also booked for alleged income tax evasion.
Earlier, the court dismissed Desai’s bail plea in the disproportionate assets case. However, he was granted bail in the case in which he is accused of taking Rs two crore in bribe to accord sanction to the medical college as CBI failed to file a probe report within the prescribed limit of 60 days.
Desai, Sukhwinder Singh, owner of Gyan Sagar Medical College, Kanwaljit Singh, one of the professors, and J P Singh, an alleged tout, were arrested on May 22 and have been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
