New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the bail pleas of Jharkhand’s former Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam and his private secretary Sanjeev Lal in a money laundering case linked to an alleged tender commission scam.

The court, however, directed that the trial be expedited.

A bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh declined relief to both accused, who have been in judicial custody for over 18 months, and instructed the trial court to record statements of key witnesses within four weeks.

The bench also made it clear that the next date of hearing would be fixed only after the witness examination is completed.

During the hearing, Alam’s counsel argued that the 76-year-old leader has been in custody since May 2024 and cited delays in trial proceedings, caused by repeated supplementary charge sheets filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The defence also pointed to the absence of a prosecution sanction. However, the court found these grounds insufficient to grant bail.

Sanjeev Lal, who sought bail on similar grounds, was also denied relief for the time being.

The case stems from an ED probe into alleged irregularities in the Rural Development Department. On May 6, 2024, the agency conducted raids at premises linked to Sanjeev Lal and his associate Jahangir Alam, recovering cash amounting to Rs 32.20 crore. Additionally, Rs 10.05 lakh and a diary purportedly detailing commission transactions were seized from Lal.

Following the investigation, Alamgir Alam was arrested on May 15, 2024. The ED has alleged the existence of an organised network for collecting commissions in exchange for the allocation of government tenders.

According to the agency, contractors were allegedly required to pay around three per cent of the total contract value as commission. Of this, about 1.35 per cent was allegedly routed to the then minister through his private secretary, while 0.65 to 1 per cent was distributed to senior departmental officials, with the remaining amount shared among other personnel, including engineers.

The ED claims that the alleged scam generated illicit proceeds exceeding Rs 90 crore in connection with tender allocations worth approximately Rs 3,048 crore.

Emphasising the seriousness of the allegations, the Supreme Court stressed the need for expeditious trial proceedings while denying bail to the accused.

–IANS

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