SC refuses to entertain ex-advisor plea in corruption case relating to Lucknow’s Gomti River Front project

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 17 (ANI) The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a plea by Badri Shrestha, a former consultant of Lucknow’s Gomti River Front project, challenging Allahabad High Court order rejecting anticipatory bail to him.

A vacation bench of justices Hima Kohli and Rajesh Bindal rejected the bail plea of Badri Shrestha, who was a former advisor of Lucknow’s Gomti River Front project and had been named as an accused of irregularities in implementing the project.
Badri Shrestha has moved to the apex court challenging the Allahabad High Court of Lucknow bench order dated April 4 2023.

Lucknow Bench of Allahabad HC has dismissed Badri Shrestha’s anticipatory bail plea observing that his anticipatory bail plea was earlier rejected on December 15 2022.

When the top court refused to entertain the plea by accused Badri Shrestha, his lawyer withdrew the petition and took steps to comply with the judgment and order dated February 7th, 2023 passed by the top Court.

Initially, in 2017 an FIR was lodged under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 34 IPC and Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Police Station Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh regarding huge corruption, misappropriation of public funds and large scale irregularities committed by the Government officials in active connivance and criminal conspiracy in implementation of a project, “Gomti River Front Development”, which was conceived by the then Government involving thousands of crores of rupees of public funds.

The state Government appointed a three-member inquiry committee headed by a retired High Court Judge vide order dated 4.4.2017.

Later the case was taken by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which after concluding the investigation in respect of the work and construction of intercepting trunk drain of both banks of the Gomti River submitted the charge sheet.

The accused Badri Shrestha worked as Senior Advisor South Asia Region for M/s Longjian Road & Bridge Limited and as Senior Advisor of M/s Brand Eagles-Longjian JV.