High Court grants bail to suspended Thane civic official, 2 others in bribery case

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to suspended Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) Deputy Commissioner Shankar Patole and his associates Omkar Ram Gaikar and Sushant Sanjay Surve in a Rs 70-lakh bribery case, which is being investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

The case was registered with the Naupada Police Station in Thane, for the offences punishable under Sections of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

The case was registered by a builder who was developing a property that had unauthorised structures. The builder was introduced to Patole, who initially demanded Rs 20 lakh to initiate action against unauthorised structures. Half the amount was transferred to Surve. But apart from issuing two notices, no action was taken in respect of those unauthorised structures by Patole.

The builder again approached Patole, who allegedly demanded another bribe of Rs 50 lakh. The builder then approached the ACB. A trap was laid and the ACB recorded a phone conversation where Patole allegedly demanded the bribe. Gaikar was instructed to collect the cash, and he was caught red-handed.

Advocates Aabad Ponda and Saurabh Butala, appearing for Patole, argued that none of the sections imposed in the case fetch a punishment of more than seven years. They said the investigators should have issued summons under Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code, which was not done.

Further, it was argued that detention of the public servant in judicial custody serves no purpose. "Where the entire material has already been collected by the investigating agency, the accused could not have been deprived of their liberty as it would amount to pre-trial punishment," argued Ponda.

Advocates Sudeep Pasbola and Waqur Pathan argued that builder Surve was not involved in the core bribery incident and the amount transferred to his bank account was for legitimate consultancy charges. They said the builder's failure to report it within seven days suggests it wasn't a bribe.

Advocate Harshad Sathe, appearing for Gaikar, submitted that he had no inkling that the bag contained the alleged bribe amount. In a sense, the accused was not privy to the alleged offences, Sathe said.

However, Justice NJ Jamadar observed that undoubtedly the material on record makes out a prima facie case against the accused.

"However, the court cannot lose sight of the fact that it is essentially a trap case. The conversation containing the alleged bribe demand has been recorded. The demand for a bribe has allegedly been verified. Gaikar was allegedly caught with the bribe amount, which he collected for and on behalf of the public servant," said the bench.

Further, the judge noted that Patole had been suspended from service. "This factor disables the public servant, to a large extent, from tampering with the official record which bears upon the guilt of the public servant. The investigation into the alleged amassing of wealth disproportionate to the income of the public servant would also substantially revolve around documents," the court said.

"Permission for open enquiry in that regard is awaited. In this backdrop, the Court prima facie finds that the further detention of the accused is not warranted to facilitate unhindered investigation," the bench added.

When the prosecution expressed apprehension as the builder had lodged a report to the effect that an unknown person had threatened him, the court imposed some stringent conditions, but granted bail to the three.

- Ends

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