Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh were on Monday granted bail by a special court here, in connection with a nearly-₹10 crore disproportionate assets case.
Special Judge Virender Kumar Goyal granted relief to all the accused on a personal bond of ₹1 lakh each, and one surety of like amount.
The court, however, asked them not to leave the country without prior permission.
Earlier in the day, the CBI had opposed the bail plea of the Chief Minister and his wife, saying they may influence 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 would dare depose before the court.
‘Probe is complete’
In their bail plea, Singh, who has not been arrested so far, and the other accused submitted that the investigation was complete as the CBI had already filed the charge-sheet. But CBI said the investigation was ongoing and granting bail could 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.
The CBI claims that Singh had amassed assets disproportionate to income of around ₹10 crore during his tenure as a Union Minister.