Behind the bars on allegations of corruption, Punjab’s former Director Agriculture Mangal Singh on Friday got relief when Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him bail in the case registered against him in September.
After the white fly attack on the cotton crops in Punjab, a case was registered at Raman Police Station in Bathinda alleging that he took Rs 8 lakh as bribe for allowing two persons to keep spurious pesticides and insecticide.
Mangal Singh’s counsel claimed that the allegation against the petitioner had been leveled on the basis of hearsay. He said that the petitioner was in custody since October 5 and the investigation was still pending and the trial was yet to commence.
Having heard the case Justice Rajan Gupta asserted: “Keeping in view the contentions raised before the High court, period of incarceration of the petitioner and the fact that trial is yet to commence, I am of the considered view that no useful purpose will be served by detaining the petitioner in custody any longer.”