CBI gets time to reply in Koda case

RANCHI: Jharkhand High Court today granted time to CBI to file its reply after former Chief Minister Madhu Koda sought bail in connection with a scam pertaining to rural electrification.

The single bench of Justice H C Mishra fixed April 9 for the next hearing on Koda's bail petition after the CBI sought time to submit its reply.

Koda, who is in judicial custody from November 30, 2009 in connection with money laundering and illegal investment cases, is also facing charges of irregularities in the tender allotment process in the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Programme.

His "aide" Binod Sinha had allegedly influenced allotment of the tender to a Hyderabad-based company during the Koda-led UPA regime in Jharkhand. Sinha is also in judicial custody.

Koda has already got bail in several other cases.