SC Protects Yadav Singh from Coercive Action by CBI in a Corruption Case

In a significant development, the Supreme Court protected former Noida Authority chief engineer Yadav Singh from arrest by the CBI in a corruption case.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Thursday protected former Noida Authority chief engineer Yadav Singh from arrest by the CBI in a corruption case. It has been alleged that Singh executed 1,280 maintenance contracts worth Rs 954 crore in eight days in December 2011. Senior advocate NK Kaul, represented Singh, before the apex court. A bench comprising justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prasant Kumar Mishra noted Kaul’s contention that a bailable warrant had been issued against his client after the CBI filed a supplementary charge sheet against him in the case.

Kaul submitted that the apex court had granted him bail following his over three-year incarceration in the case. Kaul added that his client now apprehends arrest given filling out the fresh supplementary charge sheet. After hearing submissions, the bench said that there shall be no coercive action against the petitioner and issued notice to the CBI on Singh's fresh plea for bail. The apex court has scheduled the matter for further hearing after four weeks.

In 2019, the apex court granted bail to Yadav Singh, who was engineer-in-chief of the Noida Authority, Greater Noida Authority and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority. The top court granted Yadav Singh bail on October 1, 2019, saying that “we deem it appropriate to enlarge the petitioner on bail, subject to the terms and conditions to be imposed by the trial court”.

On October 25, 2019, the top court granted bail to Yadav Singh in a separate and consequential money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate. In 2015, the ED filed money laundering charges against Singh, based on an FIR lodged by the CBI.