Punjab and Haryana High Court dismisses Haryana IAS officer Vijay Dahiya's anticipatory bail plea

Tribune News Service

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, June 2

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by IAS officer Vijay Singh Dahiya for grant of anticipatory bail in a corruption case registered at the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) police station in Panchkula.

Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill pronounced the order after listening to the rival contentions in detail.

Claiming to have been falsely implicated in the case due to “motivated considerations”, Dahiya in his petition submitted that he was posted as Commissioner, Haryana Skill Development Department, at Panchkula.

It was added that the FIR under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 384 and 120 of the IPC was registered on the complaint of Rinku Manchanda, who runs an education institute. Bills of Rs 50 lakh due to be paid to the complainant were pending with the Department of Skill Development for the last three years.

It was alleged that the complainant approached a co-accused, who allegedly referred her to another co-accused Poonam Chopra. The Bureau laid a trap and she was apprehended. The purported bribe amount of Rs 3 lakh was allegedly recovered from her.

It was submitted that the trap was laid for Chopra only and the petitioner had nothing to do with the same. She was then asked to contact the petitioner under a second trap before she was taken to a café in Chandigarh. She met the petitioner, but ACB’s attempt to implicate him miserably failed. The fact regarding the second trap was, however, cleverly concealed, it was said.

It was further added that the petitioner was picked up by the ACB officials, when he stepped out of the café and was forcibly taken to its office. After questioning him for three hours, he was released since nothing incriminating was found.

"In fact, the petitioner has been implicated merely for the reason that he is known to co-accused Poonam Chopra and by manipulating this acquaintance, the prosecution attempted to concoct a story that the petitioner is also an accused in the case. The police have tried to trap the petitioner in the cafe at Chandigarh but failed to get any evidence,” it was added.

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