Vijay Singla, others seek bail

Delhi High Court issues notice to CBI as accused claim due procedures were completed

File photo of Vijay Singla, nephew of former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation on petitions filed by >Vijay Singla — >nephew of former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal — and three others seeking bail in the Rs.10-crore cash-for-post bribery case.

Justice Hima Kohli asked the investigating agency to file replies to the petitions by August 30.

The four accused — Singla, suspended Railway Board Member Mahesh Kumar, managing director of Bangalore-based company G.G. Tronics India Narayan Rao Manjunath and alleged middleman in the case Sandeep Goyal — submitted that the charge sheet had already been filed and nothing was left to be probed further. Their counsel submitted that they were denied bail by the trial court on an apprehension that they would tamper with evidence.

“All the recoveries have been made and statements of all the witnesses recorded. So there is nothing left to be done. We request the court to give us an early hearing as the accused would be in jail for so long even after filing of the charge sheet,” counsel for the accused argued.

Arguing that evidence being tampered with was not the only concern, counsel for the investigating agency submitted that the trial court had denied the accused bail in view of the gravity of the offence.