Supreme Court issues notice to Modi government on bail plea of an IAS

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today issued a notice to Gujarat government on the bail plea of a senior IAS officer Pradeep Sharma who was allegedly victimised by Chief Minister Narendra Modi by putting him behind the bars in various criminal cases filed against him.

A bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam agreed to hear the bail plea of Sharma but refused to grant him interim bail to join family members during Diwali festival.

Sharma, who has been in jail for the last 16 months for being involved in alleged irregularity in land allotment to private firms in Kutch district, moved the apex court against the order of Gujarat High Court which had dismissed his bail plea.

The 1984 batch IAS officer had alleged he is being targeted by Modi government because his younger brother Kuldip Sharma, a senior IPS officer in the state, has "unmasked" many misdeeds of Modi since Godhra riots.

"The petitioner happens to be the younger brother of Kuldip Sharma who has unmasked many misdeeds of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, the ex-Home Minister, since the 2002 Godhra riots. The two siblings have been very close to each other right from childhood and share very strong fraternal bonds. In order to cause prejudice to Kuldip Sharma, the petitioner has been victimised by Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah," the petition said.