Accused COVID-19 positive, Delhi jails overcrowded: Delhi Court grants bail in bribery case

Two men arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a bribery case, which also involves a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) official, have been granted bail by a Special CBI Court which noted that they were COVID-19 positive, and that jails in Delhi were “already overcrowded” [CBI v. Akil Ahmad & Ors]..While acting on the bail applications filed by the two accused, Special CBI Judge Vinod Yadav said,“It is a matter of record that both the applicants have been found to be Covid positive. The jails in Delhi are already over-crowded.”.The Court was of the opinion that “fairly-settled” law provided that accused persons could not be kept in custody as a measure of punishment without trial.“Merely because an economic offence has been alleged against the accused, he does not become disentitled for grant of bail if the substantial evidence has already been collected,” Judge Yadav noted..The two men had been taken into custody by the investigating agency after it was reportedly found that the NHAI official, Akil Ahmad, was in the habit of seeking illegal gratification from contractors. He allegedly demanded bribes for clearing pending bills and issuing provisional commercial operations date for completed projects..In the present case, it was alleged that he had sought an illegal gratification from the general manager, also an accused, of Madhya Pradesh-based M/s Dilip Buildcon Private Limited (DBL) with respect to a project under the “Bangalore-Chennai Expressway Package 1 and 2”, undertaken by DBL in Karnataka.The accused DBL employee had directed the other person to deliver the bribe amount of ₹20 lakh to the NHAI official in Delhi..The Senior Counsel appearing for the two accused persons argued that they had cooperated with the CBI, which had already collected all the evidence. Further, the residential and official premises of the two men had been thoroughly searched and the CBI had seized the computer, mobile phone and various data pertaining to accounts from the applicants.He also submitted that the two men were not flight risks, and stressed that the Court was duty-bound to strike a balance between an individual’s right to personal freedom and that of an investigating agency to investigate..The CBI, on the other hand, contended that the mobile numbers of the two men were on surveillance, and that their conversations revealed the information regarding the demand and delivery of the bribe..“Mahim Pratap Singh Tomar and Sunil Kumar Verma are admitted to bail, on their furnishing a personal bond in the sum of ₹1 lakh each, with one surety in the like amount each,” the Court held after hearing the parties..Senior Advocate Ramesh Gupta and Advocates Vishal Gera, Jyoti Verma, Rohit Yadav, Vijya Singh and Kumar Saraswat appeared for the two accused.Public Prosecutor Neetu Singh represented the CBI..[Read Order]