Court Reserves Order on Virbhadra Singh’s Bail Plea in DA Case
The CBI accused Singh of holding unaccountable assets worth 10.3 crore when he was Union Steel Minister.
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Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, and his wife Pratibha Singh, among others, appeared before a court in New Delhi on 22 May to seek bail in a money laundering and disproportionate assets (DA) case.
The case was in connection with allegations against Singh of money laundering as reported by CBI. The agency had attached a farmhouse worth rupees 27 crore earlier in the month.
The disproportionate assets case was therefore moved to special court for bail the same day. The CBI accused Mr. Singh of holding unaccountable assets worth ₹ 10.3 crore between May 2009 and June 2012 when he was Union Steel Minister.
The amount is allegedly 192% more than his income from known sources during the period according to The Hindu. Singh has not been able to provide any answers for the same.
The court will deliver a decision regarding the case on 29 May at 2PM.
According to Firstpost, offence was committed by investing money in the name of family members. Pratibha Singh and eight others assisted in the same. While Singh was accused of trying to justify the income as agricultural, the others tried to justify his disproportionate assets by creating false documents.
Life Insurance Corporation agent Anand Chauhan and his associates are among the others accused.
The court on Monday reserved the order for pleas of all accused, after it had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a reply on the bail plea of the accused.
The Chief Minister, while asserting that the charges are false, has also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring against him, reports ANI.
The CBI, however, remains strong in its stance and has strongly opposed Virbhadra Singh’s plea for bail. They have stated that his medical concerns should not be considered in the case as they are rather normal for a old aged man.
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