SC denies bail to IAS Pooja Singhal in MNREGA money laundering case

Jharkhand's suspended IAS officer, Pooja Singhal, faced another setback as the Supreme Court declined her bail plea in the money laundering case related to the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA) scam in Khunti district.

The apex court's decision on Monday, January 8, marked the second denial of bail for Singhal, with the next hearing scheduled for March. Singhal, a bright IAS officer of the 2000 batch, has been in jail since May 2022 after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested her for her alleged involvement in corruption.

Pooja Singhal, who was serving as the secretary of the mining department before her arrest, was suspended by the Jharkhand government following the charges. The ED had also arrested Singhal's husband, Abhishek Jha, after raiding multiple locations associated with them, revealing about Rs 20 crore in cash at the residence of the Chartered Accountant Suman Kumar.

Singhal's husband, on anticipatory bail, claims the money in his account is from his job, while the ED contends that funds earned through corruption by Singhal were directly transferred to Jha's account. The court had briefly granted Singhal bail for her daughter's treatment, but she was subsequently sent back to jail. The case involves allegations of embezzlement of government funds, and Pooja Singhal continues to face legal challenges.