The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has provided interim relief to Dr. Anil Kumar Shukla, the former Chief Medical Officer of Uttar Pradesh, by staying the prosecution proceedings in three cases linked to the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). These cases, which allege irregularities in the procurement of medicines and equipment between 2007 and 2009, are currently pending before a special judge of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Ghaziabad. The court has directed the CBI to submit its reply by the first week of May. Justice Rajeev Singh presided over the case, which involved petitions filed by Shukla under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The prosecution claims that these irregularities resulted in significant losses to the government. Shukla's counsel argued that there is insufficient evidence against him and that a pending discharge application in the trial court warranted the high court's intervention. The CBI opposed the plea, citing the pending discharge application as a reason for the petitions' inadmissibility. However, the court dismissed this objection, emphasizing the lengthy time since the alleged incidents, with one case involving Shukla serving as CMO for only one-and-a-half days. The court also pointed out inconsistencies between the charge sheets and cognizance orders, including a supplementary charge sheet filed without necessary prosecution sanction.