A special court in Mumbai on Monday rejected the bail plea of a civil court clerk arrested in a Rs 15-lakh bribery case, noting that the investigation is still underway and a co-accused — a sessions judge — remains absconding, news agency PTI reported.
Special Judge for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases, Shayana Patil, refused bail to Chandrakant Vasudeo, who worked as a clerk-typist under Additional Sessions Judge Aejazuddin Salauddin Kazi at the Mazgaon Civil Court in South Mumbai. Judge Kazi has been named as a wanted accused in the case.
Vasudeo was arrested two weeks ago for allegedly accepting Rs 15 lakh from a businessman in exchange for a favourable order in a land dispute. According to the ACB, he had allegedly demanded Rs 25 lakh for himself and Judge Kazi and was caught while accepting the negotiated sum of Rs 15 lakh.
Advocate Vijay Desai, appearing for Vasudeo, argued that the allegations did not meet the requirements of the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, reported PTI. He submitted that all the electronic evidence, including the accused’s mobile phone and the SD card, had already been seized, and therefore, there was no question of tampering with evidence.
Additional Public Prosecutor Prabhakar Tarange narrated the case details before the court, stating that the accused had himself approached the complainant’s associate and shared his mobile number to seek the bribe.
Tarange further submitted that a proposal for action against the absconding judge was pending before the Bombay High Court, and that police needed to interrogate both the arrested clerk and Judge Kazi together to verify their phone calls and messages, reported PTI. He emphasised that the matter involved the judiciary and that failure to act strictly could erode public trust in the institution.
The investigating officer also told the court that the probe was ongoing and opposed the grant of bail until the co-accused is arrested.
After hearing both sides, the court rejected Vasudeo’s bail plea. A detailed order is awaited.
According to the ACB, the initial bribe demand of Rs 25 lakh was made from the complainant, whose wife had filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court alleging forceful possession of their company’s land. The demand was later reduced to Rs 15 lakh. Of the original Rs 25 lakh, Rs 10 lakh was allegedly meant for Vasudeo and Rs 15 lakh for Judge Kazi, the agency said.
In April 2016, the High Court had stayed the creation of third-party rights over the disputed land. As the valuation of the property was below Rs 10 crore, the commercial suit was subsequently transferred to the civil sessions court in Mazgaon for adjudication.
(With PTI inputs)
