The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Mahesh Joshi, former Rajasthan Minister for Public Health and Engineering, in a money-laundering case arising from alleged forged IRCON certificates used in PHED tenders during 2022–2023. The order was passed by a Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih, which held that the continued incarceration of the 71-year-old politician was unwarranted in light of constitutional considerations, the documentary nature of the evidence, and the unlikely commencement of trial in the near future.
The Former Minister (‘appellant’) was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on 24 April 2025. His bail pleas were rejected by both the Trial Court and later the Rajasthan High Court on 26 August 2025, prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court. The Court noted that four co-accused persons had already been granted bail, and held that the Former Minister was entitled to parity.
The Bench also recorded that the Former Minister was not named in the initial FIRs or the original ECIR, and was added only in a later supplementary complaint. While the ED alleged a structured financial trail and layering of transactions ultimately linking ₹50 lakh to a firm connected with the appellant’s son the Court clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits, as the appeal was confined solely to the issue of bail.
Relying on V. Senthil Balaji v. Deputy Director, ED, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2626, the Court noted that prolonged imprisonment, when trial is unlikely to commence or conclude within a reasonable timeframe, offends Article 21. The Court noted that the case involves 66 witnesses, 184 documents, and more than 14,600 pages, and is still at the stage of supply of documents under Section 207 CrPC indicating that the trial is not imminent.
Observing that the appellant has deep roots in society, had cooperated throughout the investigation, and had never misused interim bail, the Court concluded that continued detention was unnecessary and that concerns of witness influence could be mitigated through conditions.
The Supreme Court directed that the appellant be released on bail subject to standard conditions, including surrendering his passport, not leaving India without permission, and regularly appearing before the Special PMLA Court.
Pending applications were disposed of.
Appearances:
Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra and Advocate Vivek Jain appeared for Former Rajasthan Minister Mahesh Joshi.
