Chandigarh, Aug. 1 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has dismissed bail pleas of former CBI DSP Balbir Singh and Shimla enforcement directorate assistant director Vishal Deep, in the scholarship scam reported in Himachal Pradesh. "This court is conscious of the settled principle that bail is the rule and jail is the exception. However, in cases involving public trust, corruption, and institutional breach by law enforcing officers, such exceptions must be tempered by the imperative to preserve the integrity of the process and prevent any likelihood of tampering with evidence or witnesses, especially when the complainants are yet to be examined," the bench of justice Manjari Nehru Kaul said while dismissing the pleas. The bribery allegations first surfaced on December 22, 2024, when the Chandigarh CBI registered two FIRs based on complaints lodged by Bhupinder Kumar Sharma, chairman of Dev Bhumi Group of Institutions, Una, and Rajneesh Bansal, chairman of Himalayan Group of Professional Institutions, Sirmaur. Both complainants accused Vishal Deep and other ED officials of "demanding bribes for not arresting them" in connection with cases registered against their institutions by the ED. Vishal Deep was arrested, followed by Balbir Singh, on January 10. Deep had argued that the entire case rests on circumstantial and documentary evidence, and no bribe money was recovered from the petitioner. On the other hand, Singh had argued that he was not named in the FIR at the initial stage and was later implicated based on an alleged audio conversation, which is inconclusive. The CBI had submitted that both the petitioners are senior law enforcement officers, entrusted with investigating a huge financial scam but abused their position for personalgain. Deep directly demanded illegal gratification from the complainants under assumed identities (such as 'Rahim'), using an encrypted communication application like Zangi to conceal his involvement. Further, two vehicles used in the crime-one registered in the name of Vishal Deep and another in the name of his brother Vikas Deep-were recovered and tested positive for phenolphthalein, corroborating the operation/trap laid by the prosecution and the subsequent recoveries of the bribe, the CBI submitted. As for the role of Balbir Singh, it was argued that his role is not peripheral and he coordinated communication, facilitated meetings, and deliberately availed leave on the days crucial to the conspiracy. His presence is further corroborated through CDRs and CCTV footage from meetings at Hotel Lalit, Chandigarh. The complexity and premeditated nature of the offence are further demonstrated by the coordinated use of technology, assumed identities and recovery of Rs.1.25 crores from co-accused Vikas Deep (brother of Vishal Deep), the CBI had told the court. The court observed that the use of encrypted messaging and the strategic use of personal and vehicles belonging to family members of Vishal Deep, for carrying out such operations, prima facie underscores the deliberate and strategically engineered nature of the alleged offence. "The fact that the petitioners engaged with the accused persons outside of official channels and created an environment conducive to illegal exchanges-even if some parts of the trap did not materialise into immediate arrest-does not exonerate them at this stage," the court said, dismissing the plea....