The Allahabad High Court has rejected the bail plea of Bhikhari Singh, the then chairman of Uttar Pradesh Cooperative Construction and Development Limited (UPCCDL), Lucknow and its then managing director/CEO Vinod Singh.
A single-judge bench of Justice Samit Gopal passed this order while hearing Criminal Misc Bail Application filed by Vinod Singh and Bhikhari Singh.
The bail applications under Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure have been filed by applicants Bhikhari Singh and Vinod Singh, seeking enlargement on bail during trial in connection with Special Case under Sections 120-B, 420, 409, 201 IPC, registered at Police Station CBI, ACB, Ghaziabad, District Ghaziabad.
The matter started with the filing of a writ petition being Misc Bench (Sachchidanand Gupta (Sachchey) Vs Union of India Through Secy, Ministry of Rural Development & Others) before the Lucknow Bench of the Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India relating to misappropriation of funds allotted to different districts of Uttar Pradesh by the Central Government under the MNREGA Act, 2005.
In compliance of the said order a Preliminary Enquiry was registered at CBI, ACB, Ghaziabad. The order dated 12.11.2014, in the said writ petition the CBI was permitted to conclude the inquiry in two phases in which the first phase was where the amount was of more than Rs 40 lakh and in the second phase where the amount was less than Rs 40 lakh.
The preliminary inquiry of the case relates to District Mathura, UP which was done by the Inspector CBI, ACB, Ghaziabad.
After conducting the inquiry, the Investigating Officer made a complaint addressed to the head of the branch of the CBI, Ghaziabad on the basis of which first information report of the case was lodged on 21.09.2015 at Police Station- CBI, ACB, Ghaziabad, District Ghaziabad, under Sections 120-B, 201, 420, 409 IPC and Section 13 (2) read with 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against the accused persons.
The allegations in the FIR are that inquiry has revealed that during the period 2008-09 and 2009-10, the 11 named accused persons and other unknown persons conspired with each other and in furtherance of the conspiracy, payment of Rs 55.30 lakh was got made dishonestly and fraudulently in violation of the prescribed norms and thereby huge pecuniary loss to the tune of Rs 55.30 lakh was caused to the Government with corresponding gain to themselves.
In furtherance of the said criminal conspiracy, Chaudhary Laxmi Narayan, wrote a letter in February, 2009 to Chief Development Officer (CDO), Mathura that execution of certain inter-locking work in his constituency Chhata should be done by M/s Uttar Pradesh Co-operative Construction and Development Ltd Lucknow (UPCCDL). UPCCDL is a society registered under the Multi State Co-operative Society Act, 2002 with no share or participation of Government and as such was ineligible for allotment of any work under MNREGA. There was no approval of any panchayat body and also sanction of work in the administrative / technical capacity was missing. The work was not covered in the yearly budget plan and labour budget under the MNREGA scheme of the District Mathura but even though N.K. Paliwal, the CDO, marked the said letter to the Project Director Devi Prasad Mishra and Jai Pal Singh, the Technical Investigator with an endorsement on the back of it.
The endorsement of Paliwal to Santosh Kumar Srivastava, the then District Magistrate and District Programme Coordinator of Mathura, dated 26.02.2009 was done despite the said shortcomings who recommended financial sanction of the total estimated cost of Rs 73.67 lakh for 7 inter-locking works under Chaumuha, Chhata and Nandgaon Blocks of Mathura District on 27.02.2015 and released Rs 55.30 lakh as advance in favor of M/s UPCCDL vide cheque dated 02.03.2009 which was signed under the joint signatures of N.K. Paliwal and Santosh Kumar Srivastava. Work order was issued on 02.03.2009 itself. The financial approval was thus accorded in violation of the mandated procedure of MNREGA Act and Rules. The progress of the work was to be monitored / supervised but the same was not done.
Basant Lal, the then Chief Development Officer, marked for an inquiry to Devi Prasad Mishra, the then Project Director, DRDA, Mathura who conducted a sham of an inquiry probably to cover up the matter.
The said work was to be executed in three blocks and concerned BDOs who were responsible for supervision, monitoring of works to be executed in MNREGA and issuance of muster rolls in their blocks. J.K. Trivedi and Raj Kumar Verma were BDOs cum POS of the three blocks but no such work was monitored and supervised by them.
In order to procure muster rolls from BDOs and Nandgaon and Chaumuha blocks, Nitin Gupta fraudulently signed and submitted a requisition as an Assistant Project Manager, M/s UPCCDL, Mathura. In Chhata block, muster roll was issued and received on 12.03.2009 by Khem Chand, Gram Pradhan, Pelkhu for M/s UPCCDL. The amount of the said cheque which was issued as advance was credited in the main account of M/s UPCCDL at UCO Bank, Lucknow.
The account was operated jointly by Bhikhari Singh, the then Chairman and Vinod Singh, the Managing Director / CEO in UPCCDL. The funds were thereafter transferred to another account of this firm in the UCO Bank, Mathura which was operated jointly by Santosh Mishra and Chandra Shekhar Gupta which was subsequently distributed / drawn by various persons through cheques issued by Santosh Mishra and Chandra Shekhar Gupta. Out of the said amount of Rs 55.30 lakh, payment has been received by MD/CEO of UPCCDL, Vinod Singh, Nitin Gupta, Khem Chand from Mathura unit account.
Until July 2009, no payment was made to job card beneficiaries under the MNREGA scheme. Basant Lal, the then CDO, passed an order for payment to labourers which was then shown to have been made between 07.09.2009 to 29.09.2009. There were forged entries made in the job card. No entry was made in the Government records of District Mathura of subject works under MNREGA. No expenditure voucher for subject work was found. The expenditure vouchers and muster rolls and other relevant documents could not be found at any Government / Panchayat place of District Mathura. M/s UPCCDL did not provide these documents to DRDA/CDO office, Mathura against release of Rs 55.30 lakh in its favor. The first information report was thus lodged.
The counsel for the applicant argued that the FIR was lodged against 11 named persons, M/s UPCCDL and other unknown persons but charge-sheet has been submitted only against 4 named persons. Among the 4 named persons, the applicant is named as one of the accused. The implication of the other persons named in the FIR as accused was found to be false and they were exonerated.
It is argued that the work of the applicant as per the bye-laws of the society as he was the Managing Director of it was to aid and assist the Board of Directors in its function in formulation of policies, objectives to planning, to implement policies and plans, to summon meetings of various committees, to maintain funds of the society, to attain the maintenance and to be responsible for conclusion and safety of funds, to sign the deposit receipts, to endorse transfers and such administrative functions.
It is argued that the case as is evident from the investigation itself is apparent that the money was transferred in the account of UPCCDL after which through a cheque bearing the signatures of the applicant and co-accused Bhikhari Singh was transferred to its Mathura Branch from where it was disbursed. The end use of the money was through the Mathura office and not from the applicants. The work was executed in District Mathura and the payment was done therein. The applicant cannot be held responsible in any manner with the disbursement of funds which were done by the Mathura unit of the society. The work was done at the concerned place for which a report was duly given which is dated 30/31.01.2020.
Counsel for the CBI while opposing both the bail applications argued applicant Bhikhari Singh was the Chairman and the applicant Vinod Singh was the Managing Director of the UPCCDL, Lucknow. It is argued that the applicants entered into a conspiracy with the other accused persons and were involved in misappropriation of funds. The documents as asked for could not be made available to show regarding the end use of money and its proper utilization. Rs 55.30 lakh was disbursed to UPCCDL which was credited in its bank account maintained at Lucknow of which the applicants were joint signatories, the said money was then transferred in the Mathura account of the society for its utilization. There is no document to show that out of Rs 9.98 lakh as assigned for the inter-locking work in Badangarh, Block Nandgaon, District Mathura Rs 7.50 lakh has been utilized and properly disbursed. There has been no document produced relating to the receiving of money, its expenditure and record of labour and material payment in execution of the said work.
By the said act, the Government Exchequer has been cheated and the money has been misappropriated which was received as advance from the Government. It is argued that the applicants are even involved in identical cases which are of previous years and this a repetition of the offence.
“After having heard the counsel for the parties and perusing the record, it is evident that the applicants are the Chairman and Managing Director of UPCCDL Ltd, Lucknow. Money was transferred in the account of the society of which the applicants were the joint signatories. Money was further transmitted by them to Mathura Branch. The documents regarding the end use of money are missing. There is no explanation given regarding the same.
The case is a case of misappropriation of government funds which were allotted for development and betterment of block areas in the district. The money was disbursed in advance but the work was not done/completed. There was a conspiracy within the society for swindling off the funds received as advance in which the accused persons succeeded. The state exchequer thus suffered a loss with equal personal gain to the accused persons by not doing the allotted work in spite of money being paid in advance.
The applicant- Bhikhari Singh is previously involved in one case of misappropriation of Government funds in which a charge-sheet has even been submitted against him under Sections 409, 420 IPC. The applicant Vinod Singh apart from the case is involved in 03 other cases which are under Sections 409, 420 and 408 IPC. One of the cases being Case at Police Station Kotwali, District Bijnor is common in which both the accused are involved.
In the other two cases, the order granting interim bail to the accused Vinod Singh passed by the Sessions Judge, Mirzapur dated 12.01.2015 in two bail applications are as per the pleadings in the supplementary affidavit are still in existence and he is on interim bail till date as the condition imposed therein has not been completed due to non release of payment of the State Government shows an active involvement in the said matters also.
Looking at the positive nature of evidence, the charge-sheet submitted against the applicants and the previous criminal antecedents, I do not find it a fit case for bail,” the Court observed while rejecting both the bail application.