4 min readShimlaDec 24, 2025 08:38 PM IST
First published on: Dec 24, 2025 at 08:38 PM IST
The Himachal Pradesh High Court Wednesday granted bail to 2012 batch IAS officer Harikesh Meena, former managing director of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL), in connection with the CBI case relating to the mysterious death of HPPCL chief engineer Vimal Negi.
The bail was granted by a single bench of Justice Virender Singh, making absolute the interim protection earlier extended to Meena on April 7, 2025. The high court also granted liberty to the CBI to seek cancellation of bail in case of any violation of the conditions.
While allowing the bail application, Justice Singh observed, “Although a valuable life has been lost, the applicant cannot be penalised at the pre-trial stage merely on that ground.” The court also noted that similar allegations had been levelled against a co-accused (Deshraj Singh) who has already been granted relief by the Supreme Court, and, therefore, parity also weighed in favour of the applicant.
The court held that the role allegedly played by petitioner Meena in the commission of the offence would be determined during the course of the trial. It observed that the likelihood of the trial commencing and concluding in the near future appeared remote, as the investigation is still ongoing. In such circumstances, the court ruled that no useful purpose would be served by dismissing the bail application, which would result in the judicial custody of the applicant.
Accordingly, the court ordered that Meena be released on bail in the event of his arrest in the case registered by the CBI. The case was earlier registered at New Shimla police station under sections 108 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on March 18. The court directed Meena to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the investigating officer.
The bail has been granted subject to several conditions, including that Meena shall join the investigation as and when required, shall not leave India without prior permission of the court, shall not influence or threaten any witness, and shall regularly attend the trial court proceedings.
During the hearing, Meena contended that he is an IAS officer with deep roots in society and there is no apprehension of his fleeing from justice. He argued that to establish an offence under Section 108 of the BNS, there must be a clear overt act or direct or indirect instigation in close proximity to the alleged suicide, which, according to him, is absent in the present case. Meena also claimed that he had no direct supervisory role over the deceased, who was working under the Director (Electrical).
It was submitted that Meena was not named in the FIR and had only received a notice under Section 35(3) of the BNSS to join the investigation. The defence also relied on the fact that the main accused, Director (Electrical) Desh Raj, had been granted protection and later bail by the Supreme Court, strengthening Meena’s plea on grounds of parity.
HPPCL chief engineer Negi had disappeared from Shimla on March 10. His body was found under mysterious circumstances on the banks of Gobind Sagar lake in Bilaspur district on March 18. The high court clarified that its observations are confined only to the disposal of the bail application and would not be construed as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case.
The court held that the role allegedly played by petitioner Meena in the commission of the offence would be determined during the course of the trial 
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