HC denies pre-arrest bail to top PESO official in alleged licence scam
Nagpur, Mar 16 (PTI) The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Purushendra Kumar Dhir Singh, the chief controller of the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organization (PESO), observing that he was prima facie involved in an alleged licence scam.
Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke of the high court rejected his pre-arrest bail application on March 13.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had initiated action in this case by registering a First Information Report (FIR) on January 3 under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The FIR named Ashok Kumar Dalela and Vivek Kumar, both deputy chief controllers of explosives at PESO, Priyadarshan Dinkar Deshpande, a private individual, and Devi Singh Kachhawaha, director of Super Shivshakti Chemical Pvt Ltd from Rajasthan, as the accused.
During subsequent searches, the probe agency seized cash of Rs 1.25 crore from Deshpande’s residence, Rs 90 lakh from Vivek Kumar’s premises and Rs 2.50 lakh from Dalela’s house, it said.
During the investigation, the CBI unearthed evidence suggesting Purushendra Kumar or P Kumar’s role in the licence scam.
Although P Kumar was not named as an accused in the case, his name emerged in the statements of the accused during their interrogation. Deshpande, acting as an intermediary, conspired with PESO officials, including P Kumar, to expedite the approval of an application submitted by Kachhawaha, allegedly in exchange for bribes, the CBI said.
The firm sought to maximize its electronic detonator manufacturing capacity up to 75 per cent by March 2024, and the accused PESO officers purportedly facilitated this by expediting the pending work for the company through Kachhawaha, it said.
P Kumar’s counsel G M Kubade told the court about his “illustrious career”, his educational qualifications and his long-standing service with the PESO.
Special advocate representing the CBI, Prashant Kumar Sathianathan, told the court that the central agency had seized Rs 5.86 lakh cash from P Kumar’s house.
He also told the court that during the investigation, the applicant attempted to flee along with his family members, and tickets were arranged by co-accused Deshpande. The lawyer placed on record the list of passengers and the report of the investigating officer showing that payments for the tickets were made by Deshpande.
The investigating officer recorded the statement of Deshpande, who disclosed P Kumar’s involvement in the licence scam. Deshpande also told the CBI that 70 per cent of the bribe amount was to be given to P Kumar, 15 per cent each to Dalela and Vivek Kumar, and the remaining 15 per cent was to be kept by himself.
It brought to light the involvement of P Kumar, and there is a prima facie case against him. Therefore, custodial interrogation of the present applicant is required, and the application is prayed to be rejected, the CBI said.
The court examined the evidence and concluded that there was prima facie evidence indicating Kumar’s involvement in the alleged corruption, and denied his application for anticipatory bail.
Nagpur-based PESO is a nodal government agency for regulating safety of hazardous substances such as explosives, compressed gases and petroleum with the objective of prevention of accidents.
PESO provides technical advice on matters related to safety to the central government and state government, local bodies, law-enforcing agencies, industry, trade and users of explosives, petroleum and other hazardous substances.
