Jaipur, May 21 (IANS) The Rajasthan High Court has granted interim relief to suspended RAS officer Pinky Meena by staying her suspension order in connection with a bribery case linked to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project.

The order was passed on Thursday by the bench of Justice Sudesh Bansal, which observed that the High Court had earlier stayed the suspension of another accused officer in the same case, RAS officer Pushkar Mittal, and that Pinky Meena’s case stood on a similar footing.

The court noted that the Suspension Review Committee had failed to provide any specific reason for continuing her suspension.

“The petitioner has remained under suspension since January 15, 2021. A departmental chargesheet has been served after nearly five years. To maintain parity, the suspension order deserves to be stayed,” the court observed.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocates Vipul Singhvi and Adesh Arora argued that suspension under service law is intended only as a temporary and preventive measure to ensure that an accused officer does not influence the investigation.

They submitted that keeping an officer under suspension for more than five and a half years effectively amounts to punishment, which goes against the principles of service jurisprudence.

The counsel argued that the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigation had already been completed, the chargesheet had been filed, and prosecution sanction had also been granted by the state government.

Therefore, there was no possibility of the officer influencing witnesses or tampering with evidence.

The case dates back to January 2021 and is related to alleged bribery during the construction of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan’s Dausa district.

According to the ACB, representatives involved in the expressway project had complained that local administrative officials were demanding bribes in exchange for removing hurdles related to land acquisition and construction work.

On January 13, 2021, the ACB arrested Pinky Meena, then posted as SDM of Bandikui, for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 10 lakh.

Another officer, Pushkar Mittal, then SDM of Dausa, was arrested for allegedly demanding Rs 5 lakh.

Pinky Meena’s arrest had drawn significant attention at the time as it came just days before her wedding.

The High Court had then granted her interim bail to allow her to participate in marriage ceremonies, after which she surrendered before the authorities.

Subsequently, the ACB completed its investigation, filed the challan in court, and obtained prosecution sanction against the accused officers from the state government.

–IANS

arc/dan