New Delhi, Oct. 17 -- The Supreme Court on Friday granted regular bail to former Rajasthan water supply minister Mahesh Joshi and a co-accused in a case regarding allegations of tender irregularities amounting to Rs.950 crore in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission in the state between 2021 and 2023. The court directed Joshi to surrender his passport, cooperate with the probe and the trial, and not to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence. A bench of justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu said, "Prolonged pre-trial detention cannot be permitted to degenerate into punishment without trial in derogation of an undertrial's fundamental right to personal liberty and speedy trial guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution." Along with Joshi, the court also granted bail to co-accused Mukesh Pathak. The bench noted that the charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet were filed and most of the evidence, being documentary in nature, was already with the police. It noted that the trial involves 22 accused, 124 witnesses, 192 documents, and is yet to commence. The 72-year-old Joshi was arrested on May 7....