MP: IAS officer Joshi’s anticipatory bail nixed in graft case

The MP High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail application of dismissed IAS officer Arvind Kumar Joshi.

Joshi filed the anticipatory bail application over his arrest in the disproportionate assets case registered by the Special Police Establishment (Lokayukta). The Lokayukta counsel Pankaj Dubey opposed the anticipatory bail application of Joshi.

"It is a case of corruption and amassing huge amount of Rs 43,20,23,416 which allegedly is disproportionate to his known source of income," Dubey said.

"Thus different approach is required for consideration to grant bail to the applicant as the court has already rejected the bail application of co-accused dismissed IAS officer Tinoo Joshi who is wife of applicant on October 30, 2014," Dubey said.

Joshi moved the high court and filed his first anticipatory bail plea after the trial court rejected his bail application on November 12, 2014. The case is registered against the applicant at the SPE (Lokayukta) police station in Bhopal under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The applicant took ground that he was suffering from blood cancer which requires bone marrow transplantation within three months.

"The applicant has annexed certain documents of various hospitals in this support and prayed medical treatment is required to save life," the applicant's counsel Raj Kamal Chaturvedi said.

Justice GS Solanki said, "I am of the view that it is not a fit case for grant of anticipatory bail."

The court observed the applicant is "involved in conspiracy of creating a forged document in regard to insurance policies and other documents related to investment".

"It is revealed from the order sheets of trial courts that despite warning he (Joshi) was not present in the court at the time of hearing of his bail application. Therefore possibility of his fleeing away from the justice could not be ruled out," the court observed.