Delhi court grants bail to 2 Corporate Affairs Ministry officials in bribery case

New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) A Delhi court has granted bail to two senior Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs officials in an alleged bribery case, an official said on Wednesday.

The court said that the officials -- Manjeet Singh and Puneet Duggal, have clean backgrounds, and are unlikely to tamper with evidence. 

The bail was granted by Special Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna stating that since the accused officials have already been suspended from their positions, they are unlikely to interfere with the judicial process. 

The case pertains to an allegation that a bribe of Rs 4 lakh was paid to the accused officials by a co-accused in order to secure a favourable order related to Alok Industries, which was pending with the Ministry. 

The CBI later, in an operation, caught the accused officials red-handed. 

The court ruled that since the accused officials are government servants with roots in society, and there is no evidence to suggest they would tamper with evidence after suspension, they should be granted bail. 

The CBI opposed the bail application, stating that the investigation was ongoing and evidence was still being collected. 

However, the court granted bail to the officials and also observed that the trial process might take a significant amount of time to conclude. 

As part of the bail conditions, the court ordered the officials to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each with one surety of the same amount. 

They were also directed not to leave the country without the court's permission and to refrain from contacting any witnesses directly or indirectly. 

They were further instructed to cooperate with the CBI's investigation as required.