The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) time to file a reply in the bail petition of Room Singh Yadav, an ex-engineer with the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department who is being investigated for his alleged role in the Gomti river front project.
Yadav was accused of financial irregularities while working on the project, which was launched by then-chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
A bench of Justice S. Ravindra and Justice Dipankar Datta stated that the accused Roop Singh had been in jail for a long time (he was arrested in November 2020) and told the CBI lawyer that he was a “seasoned warrior” and should be able to understand such things..
Roop Singh Yadav’s lawyer informed the bench that Senior Counsel Dushyant Dave is currently unavailable to argue the case.
At this point, the CBI requested more time to respond to the bail plea, arguing that Yadav was involved in a multi-billion-dollar scam and had been accused of money-laundering. “His behaviour has been appalling. He has been forging documents, among other things,” he added.
While the bench granted the CBI a week to file a reply, the other side also requested time to file a rejoinder. The Court scheduled a hearing after the pleadings were completed.
The CBI apprehended Roop Singh Yadav in November 2021. In November 2017, the CBI’s anti-corruption unit filed a case against him and other Chief Engineers in the scam.
In March 2017, the Yogi-Adityanath government formed a committee led by Retd Justice Alok Kumar Singh of the Allahabad High Court to investigate financial irregularities.
As a result, an FIR was filed at the Gomtinagar police station. The Enforcement Directorate has also filed a criminal case against the accused, and Roop Singh’s assets have been seized.
