The Gauhati High Court has granted the bail plea of Rakesh Paul, the prime accused in the cash-for-jobs scam in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC).

Rakesh Paul’s bail plea was granted on Friday by the high court in a case filed at the Bhangagarh Police Station regarding the Agriculture Development Officer (ADO) bribery case.

In December, Paul’s bail plea was rejected for the seventh time by the special judge’s court in the cash-for-jobs scam.

Meanwhile, it has come to the fore that Paul has been granted bail in connection with three other cases against him.

During the hearing of his bail application, the court reportedly noted that it was not the correct time to grant his bail.

It may be noted that one of the two candidates for the post of ADO, Bedanta Bikash Das had admitted to having paid Rs 50,000 as bribe to the then APSC Chairman Rakesh Paul to gain recruitment.

However, he did not get the post after which he filed a case at the Bhangagarh Police Station against the other candidate, Mrigen Haloi and asked for appropriate action against him.

In September 2022, Rakesh Paul’s bail plea was rejected for the sixth time by the special judge’s court in connection with the APSC recruitment scam.

Advocate Makhan Phukan had represented the government and presented facts to the court regarding the matter. The HC had directed to lower court to complete his trial within six months.

Rakesh Paul, the former chairman of APSC was arrested in November 2016 and spent over five years in prison.