New Delhi: The Chhattisgarh government on Friday informed the Supreme Court that it would not take any coercive steps against former advocate general Satish Chandra Verma in relation to the NAN scam case.
The matter came up before a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and advocate Sumeer Sodhi represented Verma before the top court. The bench recorded the statement of state's deputy advocate general Ravi Sharma. Sharma submitted before the bench that Verma will not be arrested till February 28.
During the hearing, Rohatgi and Sodhi, appearing for Verma, contended before the bench that their client was being hounded only because there was a change in dispensation. The counsel stressed that no offence whatsoever was made out on the basis of allegations. Verma’s counsel pressed that he was entitled to anticipatory bail as he was booked on the basis of WhatsApp chats with the co-accused in the case.
The counsel argued before the bench that it has been alleged that Verma prepared a reply for the accused in the court, which helped the accused in securing bail in the case in 2019. "The advocate general does not prepare a reply. He is being targeted because there is a change in the government in the state”, said Rohatgi.
He pressed that the bail was granted to the accused in 2019 and the state government has till now not challenged it and the order has attained finality. Bail was granted to the accused in the PMLA case related to the scam five years ago, which was challenged before the apex court and is pending here, he said.
The state government’s counsel vehemently opposed these arguments. Sharma contended that he needs to bring some material on record and assured the court that the former advocate general won't be arrested till then. Sharma urged the bench to record his statement and not pass any directions till then.
The bench said it would grant some interim relief till the time the state filed a counter affidavit on Verma's plea.
The top court issued notice to the Chhattisgarh government and sought its response by February 28. The allegations against Verma in the FIR are that he helped Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam accused Anil Tuteja and Alok Shukla in getting bail in the case. The alleged corruption case is in connection with the supply of low-quality rice, grams, salt, etc., and several high-profile persons including bureaucrats were arrested in the case.
