SC grants bail to Jharkhand INC's Alamgir Alam, who took Rs 90 cr bribe in the form of 'commission' via govt tenders, all we know so far
On May 6, 2024, the agency raided premises linked to Sanjeev Lal and his associate Jahangir Alam, recovering Rs 32.20 crore in cash and Rs 10.05 lakh, and a diary detailing commission transactions seized from Lal.
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On Monday, 11th May, the Supreme Court of India granted bail to former Jharkhand Minister and Congress leader Alamgir Alam in a corruption case. The former Minister was accused of taking bribes in the form of commission from contractors who were offered tenders in certain government departments in the State. Along with Alam, his personal secretary, Sanjeev Lal, has also been granted bail.
The case stems from an ED probe into irregularities within the Rural Development Department. On May 6, 2024, the agency raided premises linked to Sanjeev Lal and his associate Jahangir Alam, recovering Rs 32.20 crore in cash and Rs 10.05 lakh, and a diary detailing commission transactions seized from Lal. Following these findings, the ED arrested Alamgir Alam on May 15, 2024.
The ED stated that an organized network collected commissions in exchange for government tenders. According to the agency’s findings
1. Contractors paid approximately 3% of the total contract value as a bribe.
2. The minister reportedly received 1.35% through his private secretary.
The ED also stated that the scam generated illicit proceeds exceeding Rs 90 crore related to tender allocations worth approximately Rs 3,048 crore. Emphasizing the gravity of these allegations, the Supreme Court had stressed the need for a swift trial while keeping the accused in custody. However, the accused was granted bail on May 11, 2026.
The complaint arrayed 14 departmental engineers and officials of the Rural Works Department (RWD), Rural Development Special Zone (RDSZ), and Jharkhand State Rural Road Development Authority (JSRRDA) as accused. This, as per the ED, took the total number of accused across all prosecution complaints (chargesheets) in the case to 36.
The ED in the given case has alleged that there was a 'systematic' commission-and-bribery racket operating in Jharkhand’s rural development department, where a fixed 3 per cent commission of the total tender value was collected from contractors instead of tender allotments. Against a total tender allotment of Rs 3,048 crore, the ED has quantified the alleged proceeds of crime in the case at more than Rs 90 crore.
Apart from four earlier charge sheets, the agency has also attached assets worth Rs 44 crore and seized Rs 38 crore in cash (including Rs 32.2 crore recovered from a premises linked to Lal).
This comes a month after the accused was denied bail by the Court, and, on April 2, was denied relief, had directed the trial Court to expedite proceedings.
The case stems from an ED probe into irregularities within the Rural Development Department. On May 6, 2024, the agency raided premises linked to Sanjeev Lal and his associate Jahangir Alam, recovering Rs 32.20 crore in cash and Rs 10.05 lakh, and a diary detailing commission transactions seized from Lal. Following these findings, the ED arrested Alamgir Alam on May 15, 2024.
The ED stated that an organized network collected commissions in exchange for government tenders. According to the agency’s findings
1. Contractors paid approximately 3% of the total contract value as a bribe.
2. The minister reportedly received 1.35% through his private secretary.
3. Senior departmental officials and engineers shared the remaining 1.65%.
Supreme Court has granted bail to former Jharakhand Minister and Congress leader Alamgir Alam and his Personal Secretary (PS) Sanjeev Lal in a corruption case linked to alleged taking of bribes in the form of commission from contractors who were offered tenders in certain…
— ANI (@ANI) May 11, 2026
The ED also stated that the scam generated illicit proceeds exceeding Rs 90 crore related to tender allocations worth approximately Rs 3,048 crore. Emphasizing the gravity of these allegations, the Supreme Court had stressed the need for a swift trial while keeping the accused in custody. However, the accused was granted bail on May 11, 2026.
The ED filed a fresh chargesheet on March 18, 2026, against more than a dozen retired and serving Jharkhand government engineers and officials in this case. Further, the fifth supplementary chargesheet in this case was filed during the same time before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Jharkhand’s capital, Ranchi.
The complaint arrayed 14 departmental engineers and officials of the Rural Works Department (RWD), Rural Development Special Zone (RDSZ), and Jharkhand State Rural Road Development Authority (JSRRDA) as accused. This, as per the ED, took the total number of accused across all prosecution complaints (chargesheets) in the case to 36.
The accused named in the latest chargesheet include retired chief engineers Singrai Tuti, Rajeev Lochan, Surendra Kumar, and Pramod Kumar, executive engineers Santosh Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Ajay Tirkey, Raj Kumar Toppo, Ashok Kumar Gupta, Siddhant Kumar, and Anil Kumar (retired), and retired assistant engineers Ram Pukar Ram and Ramesh Ojha. "Former superintending engineer (engineer-in-chief) Umesh Kumar has also been made an accused," the agency said.
The ED in the given case has alleged that there was a 'systematic' commission-and-bribery racket operating in Jharkhand’s rural development department, where a fixed 3 per cent commission of the total tender value was collected from contractors instead of tender allotments. Against a total tender allotment of Rs 3,048 crore, the ED has quantified the alleged proceeds of crime in the case at more than Rs 90 crore.
Apart from four earlier charge sheets, the agency has also attached assets worth Rs 44 crore and seized Rs 38 crore in cash (including Rs 32.2 crore recovered from a premises linked to Lal).