The Delhi High Court on Friday granted regular bail to two senior doctors, Dr Vinod Kumar Ranga and Dr Vatsala Aggarwal, arrested in the alleged ₹842-crore Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) medical procurement scam.
Justice Sachin Datta said that Ranga and Aggarwal’s continued custody was not necessary as the investigation had substantially progressed and the prosecution's case rested largely on documentary and electronic evidence already seized.
“Since both the applicants are doctors, with permanent residences in Delhi and no criminal antecedents, there is nothing on record to suggest that either applicant is a flight risk,” the Court said.
It observed that while further investigation remains pending, the probe is now primarily concerned with forensic examination of seized material, scrutiny of records and investigation into other persons and firms.
Notably, the prosecution had alleged that tender files had gone missing and that the accused had failed to produce certain mobile phones.
However, Justice Datta observed that the files remained untraced despite the applicants having been in custody for several months and multiple premises having been searched.
The Court further noted that no money had been traced to either applicant and that the alleged financial loss of ₹842 crore was not conclusively established.
The case arises from an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) over allegations of corruption in the procurement of medicines, surgical items, equipment and linen by the Delhi government's Central Procurement Agency (CPA).
It was alleged that the order issued by the CPA, under the DGHS, contained restrictive and tailor-made specifications to favour firms allegedly linked to co-accused Rajeev Kumar.
Ranga was the then Head of Office of the CPA, while Aggarwal was the Director General of DGHS. The prosecution alleges that payments worth approximately ₹842 crore were made to five firms through the procurement process under scrutiny.
After considering the case, the Court granted bail to the two accused. It also barred them from entering CPA or DGHS premises without permission, contacting prosecution witnesses, or leaving the National Capital Region (NCR) without prior court approval.
Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, with advocates Keshav Sehgal, Shivam Gaur, Dharam Singh, Aryan Kumar and Rashi Singh appeared for Dr Vinod Kumar Ranga.
Senior Advocate Manu Sharma, with advocates Brijesh Yadav, Nikita, Samarth Krishan Luthra, Yogyank Mishra, Manoviraj Singh and Kailash Kumar represented Dr Vatsala Aggarwal.
Senior Advocate Sanjeev Bhandari along with advocates Arjit Sharma and Amit Goswami represented the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
[Read Judgment]