The Supreme Court on Monday denied bail to retired IAS officer Pradeep Nirankarnath Sharma in a 2023 illegal land allotment case registered in Bhuj, Kutch.

Sharma faces charges of corruption and criminal breach of trust for allegedly allotting government land illegally for monetary gains during his tenure as the Kutch district collector. The FIR against him was registered in 2023 under Sections 409, 217, 120B, and 114 of the Indian Penal Code, along with Section 7(c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

His plea for regular bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, was linked to the case registered with the CID Crime Border Zone Police Station.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta passed an order:

"We find no good reason to interfere with the order. The appeal is accordingly dismissed."

The Special Leave Petition (SLP) was filed to challenge the Gujarat High Court's March 2023 order denying Sharma's regular bail. The High Court had refused relief, highlighting multiple FIRs against him for similar offenses committed during his tenure in a high-ranking government position.

Justice Divyesh Joshi, rejecting Sharma's plea had noted,

“It is pertinent to note that in the recent times, there was an increase in socio economic offences in the country. These are the offences which are solely committed for personal gains. These crimes are affecting every part of the country's economic structure and wrecking the people's faith in the system. In the following circumstances, the person is very influential and there is every chance to mislead the case. So in such cases bail should not be given. Allowing bail application depends upon the nature of the offence and related circumstances.”

Case Details: PRADEEP NIRANKARNATH SHARMA v. DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT AND ANR| SLP(Crl) No. 6185/2023