CBI court grants Punjab speaker interim bail

PATIALA - Punjab Assembly Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon was Tuesday granted interim bail by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court here in a corruption case against him and 14 others.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court earlier Monday granted Kahlon interim bail (protection from arrest) but directed him to appear before the CBI special court in Patiala town, 70 km from Chandigarh. The CBI court granted him interim bail on a personal bond of Rs.50,000.

The high court said if Kahlon has to be arrested by the investigating agency, he should be granted bail by the CBI court. The high court has fixed the next date of hearing Aug 26.

The CBI, in July, filed a charge sheet in the trial court against Kahlon on charges of corruption, cheating, forgery and abuse of official position in the recruitment of 909 panchayat secretaries between 1997 and 2002.

Three others accused of graft in the recruitment scam also appeared before the CBI special court Tuesday.

Kahlon was state rural development and panchayats minister when the recruitment of panchayat secretaries took place.

Kahlon, a senior leader of the ruling Akali Dal, had appealed to the trial court for anticipatory bail but the court rejected his plea.

Those booked with him included the then financial commissioner-cum-principal secretary J.S. Kesar and the then rural development director Mandeep Singh, both senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in Punjab. Kesar retired some time back.

The remaining officers are from the rural development and panchayats department.

All 15 people, including Kahlon, have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The CBI charge sheet against Kahlon and others caused embarrassment to the state’s Akali Dal government led by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

According to a CBI spokesman, the case was registered in June 2003 against Kahlon following a complaint filed first by Mandeep Singh. The matter was later transferred to the CBI for investigation.

The CBI spokesman said investigations revealed that large sums of money changed hands during the selection process.

Though the director, rural development and panchayats, was the appointing authority for the posts of panchayat secretaries, the minister, his private secretary and the financial commissioner (rural development and panchayats) “took undue interest” in the matter, the complaint said.

According to an investigator: “Forgery and destruction of original interview marks lists was done, in order to select candidates of their choice. A number of candidates with higher qualification were awarded less interview marks and candidates with lower qualification were awarded more interview marks.”

The accused approached the Supreme Court against the CBI investigation but the apex court turned down the plea in October 2008.

The Punjab government denied sanction for prosecution against the accused, including Kahlon.

The high court, however, in March 2008 ruled that no sanction for prosecution was required by the CBI against the accused, including the then minister (and now Punjab assembly speaker).