Witness' credibility: PMLAcourt issues notice to ED
Jaipur: A PMLA court in Jaipur issued a notice to ED on Thursday after the defence counsel challenged the credibility of the witness' statement against former Congress minister Mahesh Joshi, currently in jail in connection with Jal Jeevan Mission scam, for want of video proof of the deposition.
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The court, hearing Joshi's bail plea, posted the matter for June 13.
Senior counsel Vivek Bajwa, representing Joshi, invoked a Supreme Court ruling that mandates videography of the witness' statement in PMLA cases. "ED claims that this (PHED) engineer is the main witness, based on which Joshi was arrested. Then why was it not videographed? If this engineer claims that he took a bribe and passed it on to others, then why was he not made an accused in this case?" Bajwa asked.
Bajwa also questioned ED's delayed action. "He (Joshi) was served the notice in March 2024. Then ED kept quiet for one year. Suddenly, on March 24, 2025, he was called for interrogation and later arrested. Why did ED keep quiet for one year? These things indicate that he has been falsely implicated in this case," Bajwa added.
When the ED investigating officer claimed that videography could not be done because most of the rooms were occupied, the court asked ED to explain how many rooms are available at the zonal office in Jaipur, the crime spot.
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