Special judge for ACB cases refuses bail to Mumbai civil court clerk held for Rs 15 lakh bribe

Mumbai, Nov 24 (PTI) A special court in Mumbai on Monday refused to grant bail to a civil court clerk arrested in a Rs 15 lakh bribery case after the prosecution argued probe was still on and his co-accused, a sessions judge, remains at large.

Additional Sessions Judge at the civil court in Mazgaon, Aejazuddin Salauddin Kazi, has been named as a wanted accused in the case.

Special judge for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases, Shayana Patil, rejected the bail plea of Chandrakant Vasudeo, who worked as a clerk-cum-typist under Kazi at the Mazgaon court in south Mumbai.

Vasudeo was arrested two weeks ago for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakh from a businessman in exchange for a favourable verdict in a land dispute case.

As per the ACB, Vasudeo allegedly demanded Rs 25 lakh for himself and Judge Kazi. He was caught while accepting Rs 15 lakh, the final negotiated bribe amount.

Advocate Vijay Desai, appearing for the accused, pressed for his bail, arguing that allegations against his client do not fulfil ingredients of the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, under which he has been booked.

He submitted that all electronic evidence, including mobile phone of the accused and SD card (a type of removable device used to store and transfer digital data) had already been seized by the probe agency.

On the ACB apprehension of the accused tampering with evidence, the defence submitted that all proofs related to the case are already with the investigating officer.

Additional Public Prosecutor Prabhakar Tarange narrated before the court facts related to the case.

He told the court the accused had approached the complainant's (businessman) associate himself and shared his mobile phone number for seeking a bribe.

Proposal for further action against the absconding judge was pending before the Bombay High Court and police need to interrogate him and the arrested clerk together to gather details about their phone calls and messages, Tarange contended.

The prosecution stressed that the matter was linked to the judiciary and such cases may lead to an erosion of people's trust in the key institution if strict action was not taken against people accused of wrongdoing.

The investigating officer of the case said the probe was ongoing and no bail should be granted to the clerk until the co-accused has been arrested.

The court, after hearing arguments from both sides, rejected the bail plea of Vasudeo.

A detailed court order was not available yet.

According to the ACB, a bribe demand of Rs 25 lakh was initially made from the complainant, whose wife had filed a writ petition before the Bombay HC alleging forceful possession of their company-owned land.

The amount was later negotiated down to Rs 15 lakh. Of the Rs 25 lakh originally demanded, Rs 10 lakh was allegedly Vasudeo's share, and Rs 15 lakh was meant for Judge Kazi, said the anti-graft agency.

In April 2016, the HC stayed the creation of third-party rights on the disputed land. As the land's valuation was below Rs 10 crore, the commercial suit was transferred to the civil sessions court in Mazgaon for adjudication. PTI AVI RSY