By Former Haryana IAS officer Pankaj Agarwal, who was arrested in connection with the alleged ₹657 crore IDFC First Bank fraud case, has denied all allegations against him in a regular bail plea filed before a CBI special court. He has maintained that he neither sought nor accepted any bribe during his tenure and that his role was limited to granting administrative approvals based on proposals submitted by subordinate officials.
The bail application comes ahead of a crucial hearing scheduled for July 30 at the CBI Special Court in Panchkula. Agarwal was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 22 as part of its ongoing investigation into the high-profile financial fraud.
In his petition, Agarwal argued that the investigating agency has failed to present any direct or credible evidence linking him to the alleged banking fraud or any criminal conspiracy. He contended that the proposal to open an account for the Haryana School Education Project Council with IDFC First Bank was approved after recommendations from departmental officials and that he did not sign the account-opening documents.
The CBI has alleged that Agarwal played a role in facilitating the opening of bank accounts for the Haryana School Education Project Council and the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board at IDFC First Bank. Investigators have also claimed that he was aware of suspicious financial transactions amounting to nearly ₹60.54 crore.
Rejecting these allegations, Agarwal stated that he had no knowledge of any irregularities at the time the accounts were opened or of the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of funds that reportedly took place later. He further argued that the initial administrative limit of ₹50 crore, which was cited during the investigation, had subsequently been withdrawn, weakening the basis of the allegations against him.
The bail plea also claims that the CBI has attempted to treat a routine administrative decision as evidence of a criminal conspiracy. According to the petition, an officer cannot be held criminally liable merely because a third party may have allegedly misused an administrative decision at a later stage.
The CBI Special Court is expected to hear the matter on July 30, when it will consider Agarwal’s request for regular bail. The outcome of the hearing is likely to be closely watched, given the significance of the ongoing investigation into one of Haryana’s biggest alleged banking fraud cases.
