Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 2: High Court has granted bail to Rohit Sharma, then Tehsildar Bahu (now under suspension) and Varinder Singh, then DySP Crime Branch (now under suspension) who were caught red-handed by the Anticorruption Bureau while accepting bribe money.
After hearing Senior Advocate Sunil Sethi with Advocate Parimoksh Seth for Rohit Sharma and Senior Advocate RS Thakur with Advocate Ashwani Thakur for Varinder Singh whereas Senior AAG Monika Kohli for the ACB, Justice Rahul Bharti said that petitioners are entitled to be released on bail subject to furnishing of bonds, personal as well as surety, to the amount of Rs one lakh to be furnished to the Investigating Officers.
While granting bail to Tehsildar, High Court observed, “it seems that even the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Rajouri is conscious of the fact that the custody of the petitioner in reference to FIR under investigation might not enjoy any further extension from the court of law and, as such in order to lend a more serious note to the case, the respondent in its fresh objections have come forward with the plea that the petitioner is also under enquiry for disproportionate assets”.
“It is not understandable as to how in the FIR relating to trap case the fact of enquiry against the petitioner for alleged disproportionate assets has any bearing except as an attempt to put off the indulgence of the court in considering the grant of bail in favour of the petitioner and the petitioner has come to seek the bail after his bail application filed before the Court of Special Judge, Anti Corruption, Jammu came to be rejected”, High Court said.
“The Special Judge, Anti Corruption, Jammu seems to have been weighed down by the fact that by reference to FIR No. 02/2022 which has been registered only for the incident of demand of bribe from the complainant by the petitioner, the Investigation Officer is stretching the investigation to case of alleged disproportionate assets against the petitioner”, High Court said, adding “the Special Judge, Anti Corruption, Jammu deemed the stage of the investigation warranting no bail to the petitioner without attending the case from the perspective as to whether with respect to the commission of offence alleged in the FIR No. 02/2022, there was any purpose for the continuing custody of the petitioner by the arresting authority”.
While granting bail to DySP, High Court observed, “the FIR relates to the trap case for demand and acceptance of bribe which is carried out in the presence of police officials of the Anti Corruption Bureau as well as the public servants solicited as shadow and independent witnesses”, adding “the investigation of the case is not supposed to last long for asking continuing custody of the petitioner”.
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