Several ‘critical fundamental lapses’ in arrest of ED official: Court

Mumbai, Jan 10 (PTI) A special court here has pointed out “several critical fundamental lapses” in the arrest of an ED official by the Central Bureau of Investigation over alleged bribery after ordering his immediate release.

Rejecting the CBI’s plea for transit remand of Vishal Deep, assistant director of Enforcement Directorate’s Shimla unit, special judge B Y Phad has said that the allegations against him are “not well founded”.

The CBI’s Chandigarh unit arrested Deep from Mumbai on Tuesday on corruption charges stemming from the ED’s probe against Himalayan group of professional institutions.

The CBI claimed Deep demanded Rs 1.1 crore bribe from Himalayan group of professional institutions chairman Rajnish Bansal for not arresting him in a money laundering case being probed by the ED.

The court gave the relief to Deep on Wednesday and a detailed copy of the order was made available subsequently.

In his order, the special judge noted that the prosecution’s failure to produce the case diary “shakes its case”.

“Section 192 of the BNSS mandates the maintenance and submission of a case diary to provide transparency and procedural legitimacy. The assistant investigation officer has arrested the accused but has not maintained the supplementary case diary and produced it before the Court. This is a serious lapse,” the court ruled.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) came into force on July 1, 2024.

The judge also highlighted “several critical fundamental lapses” in the procedural compliance, fairness of the investigation and arrest of the accused.

The court said the investigation officer’s admission that no arrest warrant was served to the accused renders the federal probe agency’s transit application “procedurally unsound”.

“Above facts reveal substantial procedural lapses and inconsistencies in the prosecution's actions making the arrest of the accused illegal,” the court ruled.

The court held that the allegations against Deep were “not well founded” and that the prosecution had not met the “mandatory legal requirements to justify the detention and transit remand of the accused”.

It has ordered the release of the ED official on a PR (personal recognizance) bond of Rs 50,000.

The CBI has claimed that after collecting the bribe amount of Rs 60 lakh near Panchkula in Haryana on December 22, 2024, Deep fled the spot and switched off his mobile phone.

The accused continuously kept changing his locations and mobile phones to evade/abscond from the investigation of the case. After strenuous efforts the accused Deep was traced at an apartment in suburban Mumbai on Tuesday and placed under arrest, said the CBI. PTI