Cheating and corruption case: Punjab and Haryana High Court grants bail to former minister Bharat Ashu

Counsels for Ashu – Senior Advocate Bipin Ghai and Nikhil Ghai – contended that he has no objection to imposition of any stringent conditions, but the pre-trial incarceration would cause an irreversible injustice to the petitioner and family.

As per the case, it has been alleged that Ashu had tried to help certain contractors by changing a clause in the Punjab Food Grains Labour and Cartage Policy 2020-21. Every year, Punjab Food & Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department (Food Grains Procurement Branch) issues a policy for storage, labour and cartage policy to carry foodgrain to the godown up to 8 km from the grain market. The policies are drafted by a special committee, consisting of Secretary Food Supply, Director Food Supply and other higher officials of the state. Therefore, the drafting of policies was not a one-man job, but was carried out by a group of experts, who verified and analysed each aspect, after which the final draft of policy was formulated. The bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara, after hearing the matter, said that without commenting on the case’s merits, in the facts and circumstances peculiar to this case, and for the reasons mentioned above, the petitioner makes a case for bail.