Governor Bagade grants permission for prosecution of former Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi in JJM scam

Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Kishanrao Bagade has granted permission for prosecution of former PHED Minister Mahesh Joshi in the infamous Jal Jeevan Mission(JJM).

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made a case under sections 3 & 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 against Joshi.

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Governor Bagade accorded the permission exercising his powers under article 164 of the Constitution for initiating prosecution against the former minister Joshi under the PMLA, a Lok Bhavan Spokesman said here Friday.

The permission is given as per the penal procedure code section 197(1) (section 2018 – Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhita) in view of his prima facie involvement in crime (scam), the spokesman said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on April 24, 2025 had arrested former minister Joshi in the scam after a prolonged session of interrogation here.

As per the available details, the process of inviting and approving the tenders (granting contracts) for various water supply schemes related works under JJM on the basis of forged certificates led to scam-irregularities of over Rs 2000 crore during the previous Congress regime (2018 -2023).

The ruling BJP leaders, including Agriculture Minister Dr Kirodi Lal Meena had raised voice against this “scam” that according to Meena involved the irregularities of more than Rs 20,000 crore.

Prior to the interrogation of Joshi, several high officials of PHED, contractors, and representatives of some supplier firms have also been questioned by ED. Of them four – Mahesh Mittal, Padam Chand Jain, Piyush Jain and Sanjay Badaya were arrested in the case.

They were later released on bail by the Supreme Court.

The ex-Minister Joshi has also been released on bail recently after remaining behind bars for almost 20 months.