HC refuses to cancel bail in JKSSB paper leak money laundering case
10/04/2026
JAMMU, Apr 9: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has refused to cancel the bail granted to two accused in a money laundering case arising from the alleged Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) Sub-Inspector recruitment examination paper leak, observing that no supervening circumstances or misuse of liberty had been established.
Justice M A Chowdhary delivered the judgment on a petition filed by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) seeking to set aside the November 26, 2024 order of the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption (CBI Cases), Jammu, which had granted regular bail to Yatin Yadav and Anil Kumar Yadav under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED argued that the Special Court had overlooked the gravity of the offence, the alleged money trail of about Rs 2.52 crore, and the mandatory twin conditions under Section 45 of the PMLA.
The money laundering investigation stemmed from a CBI FIR registered on August 3, 2022 regarding the leakage of the JKSSB Police Sub-Inspector examination conducted on March 27, 2022. The prosecution alleged that the accused, along with others, charged candidates large sums through touts for providing leaked question papers, with part of the proceeds routed through bank accounts and the remainder handled in cash.
Opposing the plea, the respondents submitted that they had complied with all bail conditions, regularly appeared before the trial court, and neither violated any condition nor attempted to tamper with evidence or influence witnesses.
The High Court observed that cancellation of bail cannot be ordered in a routine or mechanical manner and requires cogent and overwhelming circumstances such as misuse of liberty, tampering with evidence, threats to witnesses, evasion of justice, or violation of bail conditions.
Noting that no such grounds were established, the court held that the Special Court had duly considered the material on record and the rigours of Section 45 of the PMLA while granting bail. It also observed that nothing had been recovered from the respondents during custodial interrogation and no adverse post-bail conduct had been brought on record.
With these observations, the High Court dismissed the ED's petition and upheld the bail granted to both accused, marking a setback to the agency in the legal proceedings related to the JKSSB recruitment paper leak.
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