Thane Court Rules CBI Arrests in Rs 1.5 Crore Bribery Case Illegal

A court in Thane, Maharashtra, on Friday ruled that the arrests of a senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and two others in an alleged bribery case were “not legal”, citing procedural lapses. The court ordered their release on personal bonds of Rs 15,000 each, and also rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) request for custodial interrogation.

In-charge Additional Sessions Judge M.S. Lone observed that the investigating officer had submitted a case diary in which papers were tied with a tag that was “loosely tightened”. The court said this was not in accordance with the provisions prescribed by law.

The court further noted that the place of arrest appeared to be the CBI office, or the same location in Panvel. It said the arrest memo in the case diary was filled in typography, indicating that officials had prepared it without considering whether the accused understood the grounds and reasons for their arrest. Their relatives were not informed in writing, the court added.

“Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that the arrest of all accused is not legal,” the court said.

While refusing to grant police custody, the court noted that the CBI had already seized the alleged bribe money and recovered the mobile phones of all three accused during personal searches. It found no “satisfactory reasons” for further custodial interrogation.

The accused are Vinay Kumar Kantheti, a 2009-batch IRS officer serving as Additional Commissioner of CGST in Raigad; Rakesh Kumar Sinha, a CGST Superintendent; and Narinder Rajput, a private person. They were produced before the court hours after their arrest, with the CBI seeking their police custody for further questioning.

CBI sources said the agency would approach the court again to obtain custody of the accused for proper investigation. They maintained that the CBI had scrupulously followed all legal requirements, including communicating the grounds of arrest to the accused.

The case stems from an FIR registered by the CBI against Sinha based on allegations that he had demanded a bribe to settle a GST and royalty matter involving a stone-quarrying firm. According to the CBI, the initial demand of Rs 1.5 crore was reduced to Rs 40 lakh following negotiations.

The agency said its team laid a trap on Thursday and caught Rajput while he was allegedly accepting Rs 40 lakh. Kantheti and Sinha were arrested subsequently. After the arrests, the CBI conducted searches at premises linked to the accused and recovered Rs 43 lakh in cash and jewellery valued at around Rs 90 lakh, the agency said.

The court's order pertains only to the legality of the arrest procedure and does not comment on the merits of the bribery allegations. The accused have been released on personal bonds, and the case continues to be under investigation.