GST Officer arrested in bribery matter released by CBI court: Know More

The arrest of Tanoj Yadav, superintendent in the anti-evasion branch of CGST Faridabad, and Aakash Rohilla, a data entry operator, has been held as illegal by special CBI court in Panchkula.

CBI’ has failed to provide them with written grounds of arrest at the time of their detention on June 3 and thus they are required to be released immediately.

Rajeev Goyal, a special judge for the CBI, rejected the agency’s request for remand and emphasized that the arrest was illegal. The judge cited Supreme Court and high court decisions when stating that providing written grounds for arrest is necessary to guarantee that the accused can seek bail, consult with legal counsel, and contest custody.

The Court observed that “The written grounds for arrest were not given to the accused, which is a violation of their legal rights as laid down by the apex court. Therefore, the arrests are illegal, and the accused must be released immediately.”

The arrests came after the CBI filed a bribery case on June 2 in accordance with Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Manoj Malik of Ballabhgarh filed the complaint, alleging that on May 29, representatives from the CGST Faridabad office came to his wife’s business, threatening to issue a Rs. 1.78 crore GST notice for falsified documents, and wanted a bribe of Rs. 50 lakh, which was eventually reduced to Rs. 10 lakh.

Unwilling to comply, Malik approached the CBI. A trap was laid, and on June 3, Aakash Rohilla was caught red-handed accepting Rs. 10 lakh outside the CGST office. He was allegedly collecting the bribe on behalf of inspector Bhagat Singh and superintendent Tanoj Yadav. Both Rohilla and Yadav were arrested, while three other accused: Bhagat Singh, Sanjeev Kumar, and Lalit remain absconding.

During court proceedings, defense counsel KP Singh opposed the CBI’s plea for remand, arguing that the arrests were unlawful due to the absence of written grounds, as required by law. The court upheld the argument and ordered the release of the two accused.

Malik went to the CBI, unwilling to comply. On June 3, Aakash Rohilla was caught red-handed receiving Rs. 10 lakh outside the CGST office after a trap was set. On behalf of Superintendent Tanoj Yadav and Inspector Bhagat Singh, he was purportedly collecting the money. Rohilla and Yadav were both taken into custody, while Bhagat Singh, Sanjeev Kumar, and Lalit, the other three suspects, are still at large.

Defense attorney KP Singh contested the CBI’s request for remand throughout the court proceedings, claiming that the arrests were illegal because there were no written justifications, as required by law. The judge ordered the two accused to be released after upholding the argument.