Virbhadra, his wife granted bail in DA case

New Delhi, May 29: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh were today granted bail by a special court here in connection with a nearly Rs 10 crore disproportionate assets case.

Special Judge Virender Kumar Goyal granted the relief to all the accused on a personal bond of Rs one lakh each and one surety of the like amount.

The court, however, asked them not to leave the country without its prior permission.

Earlier in the day, the CBI had opposed the bail plea of the Chief Minister saying they may influence the witnesses and the ongoing probe in a disproportionate assets case against them.

The public prosecutor said Singh was the "King of the state" and if granted bail, no one will dare to come forward to depose before the court.

In their bail plea, Virbhadra Singh, who has not been arrested so far, and the other accused submitted that the investigation was complete as the CBI has already filed the charge sheet.

But the CBI said the investigation in the case was still on and granting of bail might hamper it.

The 82-year-old politician had also cited several medical reports, saying he was suffering from serious ailments.

The accused persons also claimed that they will be able to look after their case in a better manner if they are out on bail.

Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh on May 22 appeared as accused in connection with a nearly Rs 10 crore disproportionate assets case and sought bail.

The CBI has charge sheeted Virbhadra Singh, his wife, Universal Apple Associate owner Chunni Lal Chauhan, stamp paper vendor Joginder Singh Ghalta, Managing Director of Tarani Infrastructure Vakamulla Chandrasekhar and co-accused Lawan Kumar Roach, Prem Raj and Ram Prakash Bhatia for the alleged offences including criminal conspiracy, forgery and corruption.

The charge sheet also names as accused LIC agent Anand Chauhan, who was arrested in the case and is currently in judicial custody.

The court had on May 8 summoned them after taking cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the CBI.

The CBI charge sheet, running into over 500 pages having the statements of around 225 witnesses and containing 442 documents, has claimed that Singh had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore which were disproportionate to his total income during his tenure as a Union minister.

Chauhan was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on July 9 last year in a separate money laundering case related to the DA case.

The matter was transferred by the Supreme Court to the Delhi High Court, which on April 6, 2016 had asked the CBI not to arrest Singh and directed him to join the probe.

On November 5 last year, the apex court had transferred Singh's plea from the Himachal Pradesh High Court to the Delhi High Court, saying it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, but "simply" transferring the petition "in interest of justice and to save the institution (judiciary) from any embarrassment".

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Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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