CBI urges HC to dismiss petition of wife of arrested ex-ED officer

CBI urges Bombay HC to dismiss petition by suspended ED officer Sandeep Singh's wife, seeking his release over alleged illegal arrest for ₹20 lakh bribe. Hearing on Sept 3.

MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has requested the Bombay high court to dismiss a petition filed by the wife of suspended assistant director of Enforcement Directorate (ED), Sandeep Singh, seeking his immediate release claiming that his arrest and detention were illegal. The court has posted her petition for further hearing on September 3.

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The petitioner, Divya, who was represented by advocates Sujay Kantawala and Mithilesh Mishra, had stated that Singh was arrested in violation of Section 35 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and he was never furnished with the written grounds of arrest by the CBI. Singh was arrested for allegedly demanding and obtaining a bribe of ₹20 lakh from a Mumbai-based jeweller.

The CBI, on the other hand, has stated that the petitioner’s statement is false as the grounds of arrest were conveyed to the accused at the time of his arrest and a copy of the arrest memo was made available to him. It said that the grounds were part of the arrest memo which was furnished and explained to her husband, and he had acknowledged it by signing on the same.

The agency also added that it had arrested Singh allegedly red-handed in the act of taking a bribe and, hence, no prior notice had been served to him. “This is a case of corruption at high places and intricate financial transactions/records, the investigation of which is likely to be completed within the stipulated time of 60 days since arrest of the accused,” it said.