The Supreme Court on Friday posted for June 23 a plea by Abhishek Jha, husband of suspended Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Pooja Singhal seeking anticipatory bail in the case of MGNREGA scam and money laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Posting the matter for June 23 so that petitioner Abhishek Jha could be represented by a senior advocate, a vacation bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah declined to grant anticipatory bail stating, “Not in the case of this nature, you can apply for anticipatory bail.”
As advocate for Abhishek Jha sought to project the plight of petitioner Jha’s two children, the vacation bench said, “All these things you must consider, when you do all such things.”
The matter was adjourned on Friday on the request of the advocate appearing for the petitioner Abhishek Jha. The vacation bench of Justice Nath and Justice Amanullah are not permitting the senior advocates to appear before them in the cases listed during the top court’s ongoing summer vacation.
A 2000-batch IAS officer Pooja Singhal, her businessman husband Abhishek Jha, their chartered accountant Suman Kumar and others are accused in an alleged money laundering case linked to the alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds in Khunti district during 2009-2010 including some other suspicious financial transactions.
The ED has said that it has seized more than Rs. 36 crore cash in the course of its investigation of two separate money laundering cases.
Singhal, who was holding the charge of Jharkhand mining secretary, was suspended by the state government following her arrest by the ED.
Suman Kumar was also arrested by the ED and cash totalling Rs 19.76 crore was seized from him.