A Ranchi court granted default bail to suspended IAS officer Vinay Kumar Chaubey after ACB failed to file a charge sheet in time. He will remain in jail due to another pending land case.
Ranchi: On Aug 19, Suspended IAS officer Vinay Kumar Chaubey has been granted bail in the alleged liquor scam case by a special court in Ranchi. The court gave this order on Tuesday after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) failed to file a charge sheet within the legal time limit.
However, despite getting bail in this case, Chaubey will not walk out of jail immediately. This is because he is also facing another case related to a land dispute in Hazaribagh.
His lawyer, Devesh Ajmani, explained the legal position before the court.
“The court was told that 92 days have passed in this case on Tuesday, but the ACB has not filed the charge sheet. The Supreme Court has directed in many cases that if the charge sheet is not filed within the stipulated time, then the applicant becomes entitled to default bail,”
Ajmani told PTI.
At present, Chaubey is undergoing medical treatment at RIMS hospital in Ranchi. The ACB court granted him what is called ‘default bail’ under Section 187(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which replaced the old CrPC.
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This section gives the right to bail if the investigating agency fails to file the charge sheet within the fixed period of 60 or 90 days, depending on the offence.
The court has also laid down strict conditions for his release. He has been directed to furnish two personal bonds of Rs 25,000 each, not to leave Jharkhand without the court’s permission, and not to change his mobile phone number until further orders.
Ajmani said,
“The court has directed him to submit two personal bonds of Rs 25,000 each for bail, not to leave the state without its permission and not to change his mobile number,”
Earlier, Chaubey had moved the court challenging his arrest by the ACB. His plea stated that the FIR registered against him was not legally maintainable and therefore, it should be quashed.
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The ACB had arrested Chaubey on May 20, following allegations that he was involved in a liquor scam worth around Rs 38 crore. Soon after his arrest, the Jharkhand government suspended him from his post.
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