Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court Wednesday sought responses from the state home department and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general over the arrest of former PHED minister Mahesh Joshi in the alleged Jal Jeevan Mission scam case. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice B S Sandhu issued notices during the preliminary hearing of a habeas corpus petition filed by Joshi’s son, Rohit Joshi. The petition alleged that although the ACB arrested Mahesh Joshi on May 7, it failed to provide written grounds of arrest to the family as required under provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The petitioner argued that investigating agencies are legally bound to inform family members in writing about the reasons for an arrest. The plea contended that the alleged failure to follow the mandatory procedure rendered the arrest illegal and vitiated the police remand and subsequent proceedings arising from it. On these grounds, the petitioner sought Joshi’s release. After hearing preliminary submissions, the high court issued notices to the authorities concerned and sought their replies. Joshi was arrested by the ACB on May 7 in connection with alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission project. He was later produced before a court, which initially sent him to police custody for interrogation before remanding him to judicial custody. Earlier in 2025, the Enforcement Directorate had also arrested Joshi in the same case, though he later secured bail from the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the high court reserved its order on the bail applications of co-accused Shubhanshu Dixit, Niril Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Dinesh Goyal and Arun Srivastava, who are currently in judicial custody. Arguments have also concluded on the bail plea of former IAS officer Subodh Agarwal in the ACB court, and the matter is awaiting orders.
