Allahabad High Court rejects bail plea of former Gomti riverfront project advisor

The Allahabad High Court on Friday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Badri Shrestha, a former advisor in the Gomti Riverfront Development Project, accused of corruption.

Passing the order, Justice DK Singh of the court's Lucknow bench observed that in cases "where government money is siphoned off by a nexus of politicians and officers, the accused in such cases is not entitled to anticipatory bail".

Opposing the plea, the Central Bureau of Investigation's counsel Anurag Singh argued that the FIR in the case was registered by the Gomtinagar police in 2017 and later, the probe was transferred to the agency which found ample evidence against the accused in the case and hence, he is not entitled to bail.    The Gomti Riverfront Development Project began during the Samajwadi Party's government in Uttar Pradesh.  The Enforcement Directorate had also filed a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in March 2018 in connection with corruption in the project.