High Court seeks update in Manhart Scam Case

Ranchi, Oct 18: During the ongoing proceedings of the Manhart scam case, the High Court has taken a step forward by filing a supplementary affidavit with the government, requesting the latest information on the investigation. Justice SK Dwivedi’s court issued this directive while addressing Saryu Roy’s petition on Tuesday. The court has slated the next hearing for November 28.

During the previous hearing, the Superintendent of Police for the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) was physically present, and the Preliminary Enquiry (PE) report of the ACB’s investigation was presented to the court on his behalf. It was revealed in the hearing that the ACB had initiated a PE in December 2020 regarding this matter, but the report had not been submitted. Consequently, the court directed the state government to file an affidavit on the case.

In response, the state government submitted an affidavit explaining that the investigation was still ongoing. Furthermore, the ACB disclosed that it had sought legal advice from the state government regarding the continuation of the investigation. In response, the applicant’s legal representative informed the court that the request for legal advice had been pending with the government for over a year, with no action taken to date.

Saryu Roy had accused Manhart of a Rs 21 crore scam related to the awarding of the work for the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of sewerage drainage in Ranchi. He brought this matter to the Jharkhand Assembly’s attention. Subsequently, following the state government’s directives, the ACB registered a PE in December 2020. However, due to the delay in receiving the report, Saryu Rai filed a petition with the High Court. He expressed concerns that even after two and a half years, the details of the PE in the Manhart scam case remained undisclosed.