Jaipur, Dec 3 : Former Rajasthan Minister and Congress leader Mahesh Joshi was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Wednesday after spending nearly seven months in Jaipur Central Jail.

Joshi was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on April 24 in connection with the alleged Rs 900 crore Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam. His bail plea was earlier rejected by the Rajasthan High Court on August 26, after which he approached the apex court.

A bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice A.G. Masih delivered the order on Wednesday (December 3), nearly two weeks after reserving judgment on November 21.

Joshiâ??s wife passed away on April 28, shortly after his arrest. He was granted a four-day interim bail, but has remained in custody since then.

Representing Joshi, senior advocates Siddharth Luthra and Vivek Jain argued that Joshi has been in jail for seven months. However, the trial has not yet begun. EDâ??s evidence does not conclusively establish bribery.

They said the ED claims that Joshi accepted Rs 55 lakh as a bribe related to a loan for his sonâ??s firm -- but the amount was later returned. â??If this was a bribe, what was the reason for returning it?â?? the counsel asked, claiming the ED failed to respond satisfactorily.

Opposing bail, the ED stated that Joshiâ??s involvement was reflected in other FIRs filed by the ACB. The Rs 55 lakh transaction proved misconduct linked to the tendering process. Returning the amount does not negate criminal intent.

The agency also argued that Joshi could influence witnesses if released.

Under the Jal Jeevan Scheme, the state and central governments were to share funding equally.

The complaint in this case stated that the required DI (ductile iron) pipelines were replaced with HDPE pipelines. Payment was shown for installing new pipelines, but in many places, the work was never executed. Contractors allegedly colluded with officials to claim payments for non-existent pipeline work. Contractor Padmachand Jain allegedly used stolen pipelines from Haryana, passing them off as new material. Jain allegedly secured the tender using fake company documents, which officials overlooked due to alleged political connections.

Joshiâ??s release is expected shortly following completion of formalities.

/IANS