New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday
refused to grant bail to former Jharkhand minister Enos Ekka, arrested in 2009 for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
A bench of justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha dismissed
the former minister`s plea, saying the CBI is still probing
the case and there were serious allegations against him.
Ekka had moved the apex court after the Jharkhand High
Court had on February 4 rejected his bail plea along with that
of another former minister, Harinarayan Rai, holding that they
might tamper with evidence and influence witnesses crucial for
the prosecution to establish the case against them.
Rai and Ekka, who had been ministers in the erstwhile
BJP-led NDA government and Madhu Koda-led coalition, were
arrested in 2009 after a social activist filed a PIL before
the Jharkhand High Court accusing them of amassing wealth more
than their known source of income during their ministerial
tenures between 2005 and 2008.
Both the former ministers are in judicial custody
since 2009.
The matter was listed earlier on March 11 before a
bench of justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra, which
declined to hear the petition as Justice Misra had expressed
her reservations in hearing the case.
PTI
