Panchkula, May 27 -- A local court has dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of tehsildar Vikram Singla, 48, a resident of Sector 27, Chandigarh, who was booked by the state vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (ACB), Panchkula, on April 24 in connection with the alleged illegal sale of Pearls Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL)-attached land in Raipur Rani. The accused was booked under Section 7(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act along with Sections 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), 318(4) (cheating), 338/336(3) (forgery), and 340(2) (fraudulently or dishonestly uses a forged document or electronic record) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to the vigilance bureau, tehsildar Vikram Singla, Kanungo Deepak Kumar, Patwari Narendra Kumar, private person Surmukh Singh and his attorney Hardeep Singh allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to facilitate the illegal sale of land situated in Mauza Raipur Rani and Mauza Shahpur in Tehsil Raipur Rani, district Panchkula. The investigating agency said the accused were fully aware that the land belonged to the Pearl Group (PGF/PACL) and had already been attached pursuant to orders of the Supreme Court for protection of investors' interests. The restraint orders had also been duly reflected in the revenue record, thereby prohibiting any transfer or alienation of the property. On December 22, 2025, the attorney allegedly moved a false and misleading application before the Panchkula sub-divisional officer, seeking removal of the restraint entry on the pretext that it had been wrongly incorporated. The vigilance bureau alleged that in furtherance of the conspiracy, patwari Narendra Kumar and tehsildar Vikram Singla manipulated the official revenue record by entering a fraudulent record to falsely depict that the land belonging to Surmukh Singh had been released from attachment. Kanungo Deepak Kumar allegedly verified the related mutation proceedings without lawful authority. On January 2, 2026, two sale deeds were executed through which around 17.55 acres of attached land was allegedly sold to Kunal Chilana and Saurabh for Rs.4.2 crore. Mutation proceedings on the basis of the said sale deeds were entered on January 9, verified by kanungo Deepak Kumar and sanctioned by tehsildar Vikram Singla on January 17 despite objections and warning communications received from the Panchkula SDO and complainant Mandeep Kajla. Singla's counsel argued that the present FIR was nothing but a mala fide multiplication of proceedings arising out of the same transaction which already formed the subject matter of an earlier FIR registered on January 30, 2026. The public prosecutor opposed the plea, submitting that the present case related to separate transactions, additional sale deeds and further material that surfaced during investigation of the earlier FIR. After hearing both sides, the court observed that considering the nature and gravity of the allegations, the official position held by the petitioner and the requirement of detailed investigation to ascertain the role of all persons concerned and the circumstances in which the transactions were processed, it was not a fit case for grant of anticipatory bail at this stage. The court thus dismissed Singla's anticipatory bail plea on May 25....