Patna, Sept. 12: Patna High Court today granted anticipatory bail to former Bihar legislative Assembly speaker and Congress legislator Sadanand Singh in connection with a case of irregularities in recruitment of 90 lower division clerks in Bihar Assembly during 2000 to 2005.

Granting anticipatory bail to former Speaker, a bench of Justice Mandhata Singh asked him (Singh) to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh while hearing his bail petition. Justice Singh held that there was no prima facie any role of Singh in the irregularities of the recruitment process. Moreover, he does not have any role in the formation of selection committee. The court had, on August 16, stayed the arrest warrant of Sadanand Singh in this case.

The vigilance had lodged an FIR against 42 persons, including Singh, on May 9. The accused have been charged under sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 477(A), 201 and 120(B) of the IPC and Section 13(II) read with 13(I) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. If found guilty, the accused can even face life imprisonment.

The examination for the appointment of lower grade clerks through advertisement no. 20/2001 was conducted on August 11, 2002. Altogether, 90 people were appointed in different phases. Thirty of them were said to be relatives and family members of the accused. A vigilance team, headed by senior deputy superintendent of police Prakash Nath Mishra, found evidence of irregularities in the recruitment process during a preliminary probe. During probe, the vigilance team found that serving employees were appointed examiners.