Himachal HC rejects pre-arrest bail plea of 8 in plantation scam
The High Court of Himachal Pradesh has dismissed the anticipatory bail pleas of eight panchayat representatives and government officials allegedly involved in a Rs 1.17 crore apple plantation scam in Sanwal Panchayat of Churah subdivision in Chamba district.
Justice Rakesh Kainthla, in an order passed on Thursday, refused to grant bail, citing the seriousness of the allegations and potential threat to the ongoing investigation.
The case pertains to January 2025 when an FIR was lodged against accused Raj Kumar (Junior Engineer), Mahinder Singh (Panchayat Secretary), Mohan Lal (Pradhan), Pooja Devi (Up-Pradhan), Karam Chand, Mohinder Singh, Bag Mohammad and Vijay Kumar under Sections 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.
The FIR states that in 2022 the accused conspired to siphon off government funds meant for plantation work in Sanwal gram panchayat.
According to the police investigation and inquiry reports, eight plantation projects were hurriedly approved, and Rs 1.17 crore was sanctioned within days. Of this, Rs 88 lakh was withdrawn on the basis of forged bills for the supply of 48,500 apple saplings. However, the actual plantation work was either never done or done only partially. Most saplings were found to have dried and several beneficiaries confirmed that they never received any plants.
The court noted that all forged bills were in the handwriting of Karam Chand, who was identified as the key conspirator. A financial trail showed that Bag Mohammad, one of the accused, transferred large sums to Karam Chand and his family members, suggesting that he was merely a conduit. Vijay Kumar, who was shown as the plant supplier, did not have sufficient stock as per the records of the Horticulture Department. Despite this, he allegedly sold nearly double the permissible number of saplings.
The court also observed that Raj Kumar, the junior engineer, had verified work that was never executed, and Mahinder Singh had falsely certified entries in official registers that were found blank. The High Court also noted that according to the Horticulture Department, the vendor was not even authorised to supply the number of saplings claimed in the records.
These actions, Justice Kainthla said, indicated a deliberate misuse of official position to facilitate the fraud.
The status report shows that a systemic fraud causing loss to the government and benefit to private persons was carried out by the petitioners. The investigation is continuing and releasing the petitioners on bail at this stage would adversely affect the pending investigation. Therefore, the petitioners are not entitled to pre-arrest bail, Justice Kainthla noted.
The alleged scam was exposed after a complaint by a local resident, Norang, who reported that the panchayat officials approved multiple plantation projects in a matter of days in September-October 2022. The funds were disbursed quickly despite lack of approvals in one case. Most saplings were either not supplied or had dried up, and no plantation work was found on the ground.
Himachal Tribune