Cash for PIL: Jharkhand HC grants bail to advocate Rajiv Kumar

The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday granted bail to advocate Rajiv Kumar, who was booked by the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly possessing unaccounted cash.

Rajiv Kumar, a practicing lawyer of the high court, was held in July in Kolkata with Rs 50 lakh in possession after a complaint was registered against him at Hare Street police station there by businessman Amit Agarwal.

Agarwal alleged that Kumar demanded money for softening his stand in a public interest litigation filed against him before the Jharkhand High Court.

The accused, who had earlier secured bail from a court in Calcutta, is currently lodged in Birsa Munda jail in Ranchi.

He will be released on bail soon, the counsel said.

The court of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi granted him bail after perusing documents pertaining to the case and hearing arguments of both sides, Nilesh Kumar stated.

The counsel also claimed that Rajiv Kumar was a ''victim'' of a larger conspiracy.

Rajiv Kumar has been the counsel for one Shiv Shankar Sharma who filed PIL against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, seeking probe into a mining lease case.