MUMBAI: A special court has rejected the bail plea of central goods and services tax (CGST) superintendent Sachin Gokulka, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly threatening and demanding a bribe of ₹60 lakh from a Malad-based businessman after threatening to arrest him in a tax evasion case.
The court also rejected the bail plea of chartered accountant Raj Agarwal, who allegedly acted as a middleman and was nabbed while accepting the bribe. The accused were influential persons, who if released could compromise the investigation, the court said.
Earlier in the hearing, the defence requested the court to grant Gokulka bail, saying no material had been recovered from him. “No bribe amount is taken by the applicant. There is no demand and acceptance on the part of the applicant,” submitted his lawyers, claiming that he had no links with the Agarwal.
Special sessions judge SH Gwalani, however, observed that Gokulka held an important position as a superintendent in CGST department. In the order passed on September 19, the court noted that the businessman was “kept confined for 18 hours and subjected to repeated use of force and verbal abuse by four CGST officers who demanded a bribe of ₹80 lakh for not arresting him and favouring him in an ongoing tax evasion probe. He was released only after delivery of ₹30 lakh.”
The court considered the serious nature of the offence, the recovered bribe amount of ₹20 lakh from the chartered accountant, and the influential position of the accused. Observing that such offences are serious and harmful to the nation, the court said, “I hold that taking into consideration the nature of offence committed by the applicant with other accused persons in a planned manner, he is not entitled to be enlarged on bail at this stage because investigation is still going on.”
{{/usCountry}}The court considered the serious nature of the offence, the recovered bribe amount of ₹20 lakh from the chartered accountant, and the influential position of the accused. Observing that such offences are serious and harmful to the nation, the court said, “I hold that taking into consideration the nature of offence committed by the applicant with other accused persons in a planned manner, he is not entitled to be enlarged on bail at this stage because investigation is still going on.”
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