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The Supreme Court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to former Advocate General of Chhattisgarh Satish Chandra Verma, who was booked in connection with the Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam case.
While granting the pre-arrest bail, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed the former Chhattisgarh Advocate General Verma to cooperate with the investigation. The case against Verma pertained to certain incriminating WhatsApp chats that took place between him and bureaucrats Anil Tuteja and Alok Shukla-- who are the prime accused in the Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam case. As per allegations by the Enforcement Directorate, the former law officer aided the prime accused in the case in securing their bail. The Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam involves the supply of alleged substandard rice, grams, salt, and other essentials, which has led to the arrest of several high-profile individuals, including bureaucrats. In November last year, a sessions court in Chhattisgarh had rejected Verma's bail, stating that the allegations against him were serious and required to be investigated. Later, the Chhattisgarh High Court also rejected Verma's pre-arrest bail plea. During an earlier hearing in the case on February 21, the Chhattisgarh government had informed the Supreme Court it would not take any coercive steps against Verma in relation to the Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam case. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that Verma was being "hounded" due to the change in government the previous year from the Congress to the current Bhartiya Janata Party. After hearing the submissions, the apex court granted anticipatory bail to Verma. (ANI)
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