The state High Court has granted bail to Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Pankaj Sharma, arrested on charges of tampering with evidence in the death case of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Chief Engineer Vimal Negi. Judge Virender Singh granted Sharma this relief while accepting his petition. Sharma, arrested by the CBI, had been in judicial custody for approximately one and a half months.
The court also imposed strict conditions on the bail. Pankaj Sharma will not be allowed to leave the country without court permission. He is also prohibited from exerting any kind of pressure on prosecution witnesses or intimidating or threatening anyone connected with the case. The court ordered the petitioner’s release upon furnishing a personal bond of ₹50,000 and a surety of the same amount.
It is noteworthy that the CBI arrested Pankaj Sharma on September 14 from his native village in Ghumarwin tehsil of Bilaspur district. An FIR was registered against him in this case on March 19, after which the High Court handed over the investigation to the CBI on May 23. The CBI filed a new case in this regard on May 26.
Petitioner Pankaj Sharma argued that the CBI no longer needed to interrogate him in custody and that he was willing to comply with any conditions imposed by the court. The court granted the petition, stating that given the maximum sentence for the crimes for which he was arrested, there was no justification for indefinite judicial custody of the petitioner.
