The Bombay High Court on Wednesday set aside an order of a Thane Special CBI Court that had termed the arrests of three accused in an alleged Rs 40 lakh bribery case “illegal” and released them on bail. It also observed that the Sessions Judge passed the order “without application of mind and without perusing the record properly.”

The High Court remanded CGST Superintendent Rakesh Kumar Sinha, a private person, and Customs House Agent (CHA) Narinder Rajput to two days of CBI custody for custodial interrogation. It ordered the Investigating Officer (IO) to produce them before the Sessions Judge once their custody ends.

In a press release, the agency said it was trying to trace the third accused: Additional Commissioner CGST Vinay Kumar Kantheti, a 2009-batch IRS officer.

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On August 26, the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch, Mumbai, registered the case under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act following a complaint by a businessman, who alleged that the CGST Superintendent had demanded a bribe of Rs 1.50 crore in connection with proceedings involving the complainant’s firm. The bribe was later negotiated to Rs 40 lakh

The agency laid a trap on August 27 and apprehended Rajput while he was accepting Rs 40 lakh on behalf of Sinha and Kantheti. Later, Sinha and Kantheti were arrested and produced before the Special CBI Court in Thane.

A day later, the Thane court termed the arrests “illegal,” denied custodial interrogation and ordered their release.

A single-judge bench of Justice Shivkumar G Dige on Wednesday allowed CBI’s revision application against the Thane court order, which the three accused opposed.

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The sessions court observed that the investigating officer violated legal provisions by presenting the case diary with loosely arranged papers. It noted that officials prepared arrest memos without ensuring the accused understood or received written grounds for arrest as per procedure.

However, Justice Dige termed the sessions court order “perverse” and “incorrect” since the procedures were followed.

“Mere loose pages of a case diary cannot be a ground to suspect the prosecution’s case at the threshold,” the court noted, adding that allegations against the accused were “serious”.

Following the High Court’s order, Sinha and Rajput were taken into CBI custody for custodial interrogation. The agency is making efforts to trace and apprehend Kantheti, the CBI officer said.