ACB to move court seeking permission to prosecute AAP MLA

LG has granted his approval to the ACB to proceed with filing of the appeal against an order by Speaker Ram Niwas Goel

The anti-corruption branch (ACB) is set to approach the Delhi high court against state assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel’s decision to decline prosecution sanction against Aam Aadmi Party legislator SK Bagga in an alleged graft case, people aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

The matter pertains to a 2018 case in which Bagga, the Krishna Nagar MLA, has been accused of seeking a bribe. (HT Photo)

Officials in lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s office confirmed that the LG has granted his approval to the ACB to proceed with filing of the appeal against the denial of the prosecution sanction, and ACB officials said that the appeal would be filed within a day or two.

The matter pertains to a 2018 case in which Bagga, the Krishna Nagar MLA, has been accused of seeking a bribe.

“In the complaint against Bagga, a man alleged that the legislator took ₹11,000, ₹21,000 and ₹25,000 from him and promised a party ticket for the civic body elections in 2017. The complainant also alleged that the AAP legislator later demanded ₹8 lakh. He had recorded the telephonic conversation which was handed to the ACB. We had registered a case on March 9, 2018,” an ACB officer said.

Bagga has denied the allegations. He said, “The case is fake. The Delhi Lokayukta has dropped the charges in this case. If the ACB approaches the court, we will fight this case legally there too.”

ACB officials said they sent voice samples of the purported telephonic conversation to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Rohini, which confirmed that the voice in the sample was of Bagga. Thereafter, the ACB on March 23, 2022 sought permission of the speaker to prosecute the legislator under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. But the request was denied.

“We wanted to file a charge sheet and had followed the protocol by seeking permission from the speaker,” the ACB officer quoted above said.

“The matter was referred to the law department, which advised the ACB to challenge the speaker’s order. The matter was then placed before the chief vigilance officer (CVO), who directed ACB to place the file before the LG. The LG has now granted his approval to the ACB to approach the high court,” the officer said.

When contacted, speaker Goel said he is not in the city and does not remember the case details. “I will be able to comment on this only after returning to Delhi,” he said.