HC rejects revenue official’s bail plea

Jammu, July 5: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh declined bail to a revenue official, who was arrested by CBI while accepting Rs 18, 000 bribe.

Observing that probability of him influencing the complainant and the witnesses by offering them monetary benefit was extremely high and not certainly improbable, a bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan dismissed plea of revenue official Muhammad Ishaq Bhat, who was arrested on May 27 by the CBI while accepting a bribe of Rs 18,000 from a person for processing his application for land settlement.

“(The Court) cannot close its eyes to the fact that in a case of bribe taking, if the accused is released prematurely on bail, more so where he has been caught red handed by the police, the probability of the accused influencing the complainant and the witnesses by offering them monetary benefit, is extremely high and not certainly improbable…”

“Though the investigation has been completed and the charge-sheet is filed, if the accused is released prematurely, there is a real danger of him attempting to win over the complainant, shadow witnesses and others, who are witnesses to the seizure memorandums, to turn hostile before the trial Court,” the court said, finding force in the apprehension by the CBI counsel that upon search of the residential premises of the applicant, a sum of Rs.3,71,000 was also recovered in cash and that investigation is also underway to trace the proceeds of the crime in view of the huge recovery of cash.

The court underscored that it differs in the opinion that an offence under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act can also be dealt with the same yardsticks that may be applied for offences against human body or other categories of offences.

The Court observed that  it must be borne in mind that offence against the human body may be a crime of passion which may at times result in one man taking the life of another in a fit of anger arising at the moment without premeditation and without any preparation.” However, offences of cheating, corruption and other white color offences are impossible to be committed without serious premeditation”, it said.

“For the offence for which the applicant has been accused of, a great deal of planning, arrangements and other associations with co-accused persons are required before the transfer of money can take place effectively from the victim to the accused.”

The court noted that such persons have their own contacts, touts and agents, who intercede with the victim on behalf of the corrupt official and coax him to part with money for a solution based upon the discretionary power of that public servant.