Supreme Court grants bail to ED officer accused of demanding bribes

The Supreme Court recently granted bail to Enforcement Directorate (ED) Assistant Director Vishal Deep, who was arrested after being accused of demanding bribes from two college administrators during an investigation into alleged financial irregularities in scholarship funds [Vishal Deep vs. Central Bureau of Investigation]. .A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma set aside the Punjab & Haryana High Court order that had refused him bail.The Court said that the investigation was complete, the charge sheet had already been filed, and there was no need to keep the officer in custody any longer..The High Court had taken a far stricter view when it rejected bail three months earlier. It said the allegations pointed to a pre-planned demand for illegal gratification by senior law enforcement officers and described the material as suggestive of a “well orchestrated conspiracy.”According to the High Court, the accused officer was alleged to have used an alias, encrypted applications and even vehicles linked to his family to facilitate the demand.Summarising its concerns, the High Court had said the alleged conduct struck at the heart of institutional integrity.“The allegations against petitioner Vishal Deep of demanding illegal gratification in exchange for manipulating outcome of the investigation and influencing arrests strike at the heart of the institutional integrity,” the High Court had said..The allegations arose after two college management officials, facing action in a separate money-laundering inquiry, complained that bribes were demanded from them in exchange for avoiding arrest. Based on these complaints, the CBI opened a corruption case and later arrested the ED officer.After the High Court rejected his bail, he approached the top Court. .Before the Supreme Court, Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta, appearing for the officer, argued that keeping him in custody after filing of the charge sheet amounted to pre-trial punishment and that he had spent considerable time in jail even though the trial was unlikely to conclude soon. She also argued that there was no allegation of him having misused bail earlier in a related matter.The CBI, represented by Additional Solicitor General Raja Thakre, opposed bail and relied on the High Court’s detailed findings on the seriousness of the alleged misconduct.The Supreme Court, however, confined itself to the stage of the proceedings. It noted that the investigation was over, that the prosecution’s material had already been filed before the trial court and that the accused was expected to cooperate with the trial..The appeals were accordingly allowed and the Court directed that bail be granted on terms to be fixed by the trial court..The accused was represented by Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta along with advocates Mudit Jain, Yugant Sharma and Hardik Sharma. .[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.