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| Sadanand Singh |
Patna, May 16: Special vigilance judge Ajit Kumar Sinha refused to stay the arrest of senior Congress leader and former Assembly Speaker Sadanand Singh in connection with a case of irregularities in recruitment of 90 lower-division clerks in Bihar Assembly between 2000 and 2005.
Singh was the Assembly Speaker during that period.
Sadanand’s counsel Arun Kumar today pleaded for the anticipatory bail application. The special court refused to grant him bail.
Having considered the submission of the defence and prosecution, the special court called for the memo of evidence from the prosecution by May 20. The former speaker’s counsel requested the court to stay the arrest of the accused or grant him provisional bail during that period.
Special vigilance public prosecutor Bhola Nath Verma opposed the submission of the defence council and submitted that the court should not stay the arrest of the former speaker, who for his own benefit, declared several candidates as failures and was instrumental in manipulating the unsuccessful students as qualified.
The next date of hearing the anticipatory bail application is May 20. Sadanand had filed the anticipatory bail application on May 13.
The vigilance bureau has named 42 persons, including the former speaker, in its FIR.
The vigilance, the marks obtained by the successful candidates was altered during the appointment of lower division clerks.
According to the FIR, advertisement number 2/2001 was made in order to benefit the retrenched employees. A huge number of candidates were called for the interview with a purpose to appoint certain candidates. There was no provision to conduct an interview in the appointment of lower division clerks — only a written test was required for the same.
Allegation against the accused persons is that out of 90 candidates who were appointed as lower division clerks in different phases 30 were said to be relatives and family members of the accused.
A vigilance team headed by the then deputy superintendent of police Prakash Nath Mishra found evidence of irregularities in the recruitment process.
The FIR states that former speaker violated the ordinance, misinterpreted the orders of Patna High Court and also abused the power of a speaker in the appointment of 90 lower division clerks in the Bihar Assembly.
The bail application has stated that there were no irregularities on the part of the former speaker in the recruitment of 90 lower division clerks in the Bihar Assembly.