JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court has flagged serious lapses by both the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and a Special Court in the arrest of Mahesh Joshi, a minister in the former Ashok Gehlot government, in connection with the multi crore Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam.
Making strong observations on the arrest of the former Cabinet Minister, the High Court said the ACB and the subordinate court had disregarded legal provisions.
It also remarked that the ACB appeared to lack even a basic understanding of the grounds for arrest. Despite these observations, the High Court declined to grant relief on this specific ground.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Umashankar Vyas and Justice Ashok Kumar Jain made the observations in a detailed order while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Rohit Joshi, son of Mahesh Joshi.
The order noted that the ACB failed to communicate clear written grounds for arrest to Joshi. It observed that the ACB appeared unaware of the fundamental distinction between the “reason” for arrest and the “grounds” for arrest.
The High Court said no record had been produced to establish that the grounds for arrest had been communicated to him.
The High Court remarked that merely citing provisions of law in an FIR does not amount to compliance with constitutional and legal requirements.
It further observed that when a person is produced before a magistrate for remand, it is the magistrate’s responsibility to verify compliance with Article 22(1) of the Constitution.
Failure to comply with these provisions renders an arrest illegal and precludes the remand of the individual concerned.
The court also directed that police and judicial officers be trained on Supreme Court guidelines governing such cases to ensure compliance with constitutional provisions.
It further noted that the subordinate court had refused to declare the arrest illegal, a decision that remains open to challenge under the law.
The court has forwarded a copy of the order to the Registrar General with directions to place it before the Chief Justice and the Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, to ensure compliance.
In the petition filed before the High Court, Rohit Joshi stated that when his father was arrested on May 7 and produced before a court with a request for five days of police remand, established procedures were disregarded.
It was contended that, contrary to mandatory Supreme Court guidelines, neither a written notice setting out the grounds for arrest nor an acknowledgement of such notice was provided to the family or his lawyer before the remand request was made.
It was further argued on behalf of Rohit Joshi that, in the absence of written communication of the grounds for arrest, the arrest was entirely illegal and unconstitutional and, therefore, his father should be released immediately.
The JJM case dates back to June 20, 2023, when BJP leader Kirori Lal Meena staged a two day sit in protest outside Ashok Nagar police station in Jaipur, demanding registration of an FIR in the matter.
Under the JJM scheme, it is alleged that two firms, M/s Shri Ganpati Tubewell and M/s Shri Shyam Tubewell, secured tenders by submitting forged documents. The proprietors of the firms, Mahesh Mittal and Padamchand Jain, are accused of obtaining contracts worth around ₹960 crore using fraudulent certificates purportedly issued by IRCON International.
It is further alleged that former minister Mahesh Joshi was involved in the matter. The issue gained considerable political traction and remained a major topic of discussion in political circles, including during the 2023 Assembly elections.
