Official gets advance bail in Mysore Minerals case

The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to Mahendra Jain, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department.
Jain had moved the court seeking anticipatory bail in the Mysore Minerals Ltd (MML) case where he is accused of causing a Rs 300-crore loss to the company when he was its managing director during 2007-2008.

The Special Court of the Lokayukta had recently rejected his anticipatory bail.

Jain argued that when the matter of loss to the exchequer was referred to the then Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, he had given a report stating the there was no material to show that he was accused in causing the loss. When MML itself conducted an enquiry, they had declared that there was no loss to the company.

Later, a complaint was registered again accusing Jain of causing a loss of Rs 43 crore to MML.

Jain contended that when another accused in the case, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, was granted anticipatory bail, he too was entitled to bail.

Justice Rathnakala granted bail after the SIT submitted that it did not have any evidence against Jain as of now.