The Supreme Court granted bail to Mahesh Joshi and Mukesh Pathak in the Rajasthan PHED case. The ruling underscores that grave allegations cannot justify indefinite pre-trial detention.
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Newdelhi,Oct 16, 2026 20:26 IST
The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to former Rajasthan minister Mahesh Chandra Joshi and another accused in a 2024 case involving alleged financial irregularities in the state's Public Health Engineering Department, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu allowed appeals filed by Joshi, who was the PHED minister at the time, and Mukesh Pathak against the Rajasthan High Court's August 13 order rejecting their applications for regular bail.
The Supreme Court noted that the investigation against both appellants had been completed and that the prosecution's case was based mainly on documentary records and electronic evidence.
According to PTI, the court said the case involved 22 accused, three chargesheets, 124 prosecution witnesses and 192 documents running into 20,000 pages.
"As repeatedly emphasised by this court, prolonged pre-trial detention cannot be permitted to degenerate into punishment without trial in derogation of an undertrial's fundamental right to personal liberty and speedy trial guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution," the bench said.
Senior advocates Sidharth Luthra and Siddharth Aggarwal, along with advocate Vivek Jain, represented Joshi.
The court noted that the allegations concerned irregularities in tenders floated by Rajasthan's PHED under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
"There can be no gainsaying that allegations of large-scale financial impropriety and institutional collusion in the execution of a public welfare project such as the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' are grave and warrant serious scrutiny," the bench observed.
However, it said the gravity of the allegations could not by itself outweigh all other considerations governing bail or justify indefinite detention before trial.
The bench noted that Joshi had been in custody in connection with the investigation since May 7. It also said the Supreme Court had granted him bail in the related proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in December last year.
Several co-accused had already received interim protection or bail, while the trial was yet to begin, PTI reported.
"Viewed in the totality of the aforesaid circumstances, we are satisfied that further pre-trial incarceration of the appellants is neither warranted nor necessary, and that any legitimate apprehension of the prosecution can be adequately safeguarded by imposing appropriate conditions," the bench said.
Setting aside the Rajasthan High Court's order concerning Joshi and Pathak, the Supreme Court directed that they be released after furnishing bail bonds and sureties to the satisfaction of the trial court.
The court imposed conditions, including that they must not directly or indirectly induce, threaten or make promises to anyone familiar with the facts of the case. They were also barred from tampering with prosecution evidence.
"Should either of the appellants breach any of the conditions imposed or default in appearing before the trial court without sufficient cause, it shall be open to the trial court to cancel the bail of the defaulting appellant and pass appropriate orders in accordance with law," the bench said.
The Supreme Court, therefore, granted bail to Joshi and Pathak after considering the completion of the investigation, the documentary nature of the evidence, the time spent in custody and the fact that the trial had not begun, while imposing conditions to protect the prosecution's case.
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