New Delhi [India], May 26 : The Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday granted bail to Narendra Kumar Gupta, Director of Takshila Academy Private Limited, who was arrested in connection with an alleged corruption case linked to the 'Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Vikas Yojana'.
Gupta was arrested in April 2026 and sent to judicial custody on April 30, 2026. He was arrested in a case related to alleged irregularities by empanelled institutes receiving government grants under the scheme for coaching students from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backwards Classes (OBC), along with stipends.
An FIR was lodged by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) against public servants and coaching institutes over allegations of illegalities committed in connivance for obtaining money from the government exchequer under the 'Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Vikas Yojana'.
Special Judge Ruchi Agarwal Asrani granted bail to Gupta, observing that there is a presumption of innocence and that the accused cannot be detained as a punitive measure.
"There is a presumption of innocence of the accused and the applicant/accused cannot be detained as a punitive measure," the court said.
The court further observed that the accused cannot be kept in jail indefinitely on the ground that employees and students are yet to be examined and that he may influence them.
The Special Judge noted that Gupta had been in judicial custody since April 30, 2026, and was admittedly not personally required for investigation. Therefore, his continued incarceration would serve no purpose.
"In such circumstances, I am of the view that bail cannot be denied to the accused as a punishment when he would be facing the trial in accordance with law. Therefore, the application for bail is allowed," the court said in its order.
The court granted bail to Narendra Kumar Gupta on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with one surety of the like amount.
The court imposed conditions, including that the accused shall not leave the country without prior permission of the court and shall report to the concerned Investigation Officer at the Anti-Corruption Branch police station on the 15th and 30th day of every month.
Advocate Vikram Singh Panwar, along with Akhilesh Singh, appearing for Gupta, submitted that the allegations in the FIR pertain to alleged irregularities and discrepancies in claims submitted by various coaching institutes under the scheme for the 2021-22 coaching session.
The counsel argued that from March 2020 till August 2021, the institution continuously conducted coaching classes and duly complied with all procedures, modalities, guidelines, and requirements communicated by the department from time to time.
He also argued that the investigating agency has completely failed to assign any specific allegation or disclose any distinguishing feature so as to justify treating the applicant differently from the other institutions or necessitating his arrest in the present case.
Opposing the bail plea, the Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) argued that the investigation is still pending and that employees of the institute and enrolled students are yet to be interrogated.
The prosecution further submitted that the Investigating Officer (IO) had informed that the accused may interfere in the investigation by influencing students and employees, thereby hampering a fair probe. He submitted that for fair investigation and to prevent the applicant from running away from the jurisdiction of this court, the present application should be dismissed.
The scheme was launched by the government in 2017 under which coaching fees for a certain category of students were to be paid to empanelled institutes, while stipends were to be provided to students by the Department for Welfare of SC/ST (DSCST).
Takshila Academy Pvt Ltd was empanelled on November 14, 2019, and the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed on February 26, 2020. The institute reportedly provided coaching to 948 students.
According to the prosecution, the institute failed to open a separate bank account, which was mandatory, and received a grant of Rs 3.07 crore in the second phase, including Rs 2.56 crore for coaching and Rs 51.20 lakh for stipends.
The prosecution further alleged that screening of data received from the institute and DSCST indicated that 46 students listed by Gupta's institute were also enrolled in other empanelled institutes.
During investigation into the alleged "doubling issue," 25 students joined the probe, of whom five had received stipends from the institute, while one student had also received a stipend from another institute.
The ACB claimed that during examination, 20 students stated they had either not attended coaching classes or attended only a few classes, despite the institute allegedly submitting their names to DSCST for claiming funds.
The prosecution further alleged that 14 students and several witnesses named the director and staff in their statements. Three students stated they had informed the institute about withdrawing admission, but their names were allegedly retained and submitted before DSCST.
Four students alleged that they signed attendance registers retrospectively at the institute's instance, indicating they had not attended classes. One student stated she had sought admission in a paid batch, but the institute allegedly used her name under the scheme, while five students alleged that their signatures were forged.
The prosecution also alleged that the institute received government funds in cases where coaching had allegedly not been provided to students.
Further, during the ACB investigation, it was found that some students had allegedly not received stipends from the institute despite funds being released by DSCST. Three employees of the institute also alleged that attendance of students was marked retrospectively at the instance of director Narendra Kumar Gupta.