In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India has granted pre-arrest bail to Yadav Singh, the former Chief Engineer of the Noida Authority, in a corruption case involving the dubious execution of maintenance contracts worth approximately Rs 954 crore. The order was issued on Monday by a bench comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy and R Mahadevan.
The case pertains to allegations that in December 2011, Singh expedited the approval of 1,280 maintenance contracts in just eight days. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has been probing the matter, expressed concerns that Singh might flee the country to evade legal proceedings.
In response to these concerns, Additional Solicitor General Vikramjeet Banerjee, representing the CBI, argued before the court about the potential risk of the accused absconding. However, Singh’s counsel, Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, countered these claims by noting that Singh had already surrendered his passport to the CBI, thereby mitigating the risk of him leaving the country.
The Supreme Court bench laid down several conditions along with granting bail. It ordered Singh to report to the investigating officer on the 7th day of each month and fully cooperate with the trial. Additionally, the court specified that if police decide to arrest Singh, he must be released upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000 along with two local sureties for a similar amount, to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer.
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This is not the first time Singh has faced legal scrutiny. Back on October 25, 2019, he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in a separate money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate. The money laundering charges were based on an FIR by the CBI, following a 2014 raid by the Income Tax department, which revealed Singh’s assets were disproportionately higher than his official income. This led to his suspension by the Uttar Pradesh government at that time.
The Allahabad High Court had previously directed the CBI to investigate the corruption allegations in July 2015, describing them as “most serious.” This directive came after significant discrepancies were noted in Singh’s asset accumulation compared to his known sources of income.
