The Supreme Court expressed surprise after learning that currency notes allegedly seized from an accused in a Bihar corruption case were allegedly destroyed by rodents, according to PTI.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan asked how such seized cash could be damaged and wondered how many similar cases there could be where the notes were not safely stored. The court called it a “colossal loss of revenue” for the state.
The matter came up during the hearing of a lawsuit filed by a woman who was sentenced to four years in prison in a corruption case.
According to the charges, a woman, Aruna Kumari, who served as director of the child development program in 2014, allegedly demanded and accepted a bribe ₹10,000 from the complainant. According to reports, she was booked under Sections 7 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.
The Supreme Court, which had earlier exempted the woman from surrender till further orders, released her on bail and stayed the sentence imposed by the Patna High Court.
The bench noted, “We also noticed something that we should not ignore.” Referring to a paragraph in the high court judgment of February last year, he pointed out that the seized currency notes were allegedly destroyed by rats and rodents due to the poor condition of the ‘Malkhana’ where they were kept.
“We are surprised that the currency notes were destroyed by rodents. We wonder how many such currency notes obtained in this type of crime have been destroyed because they are not kept in a safe place. It is a huge loss of revenue for the state,” the Supreme Court said in its April 24 order.
The court said the cash damage rationale did not appear convincing.
The court added that it will examine the matter in detail when the main case is heard.
The Supreme Court was hearing a woman’s lawsuit challenging the High Court’s verdict that convicted her in a corruption case. It also noted that the trial court had earlier acquitted her of all charges, after which an appeal was filed in the High Court.
Delhi police chief arrested in bribery case
Meanwhile, in other news, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Delhi Police chief lodged in the drug cell in Dwarka for allegedly accepting bribe. ₹2 lakh from the complainant in return for not falsely implicating her in the case, officials said on Wednesday, according to PTI.
According to the CBI, a case was registered on Tuesday against Senior Constable Ajay and some unidentified persons following a complaint alleging that he demanded ₹15 lakhs.
The agency said it was in possession of cash during searches conducted at the Dwarka narcotics cell office ₹48.87 million was recovered and seized.
A CBI spokesperson said in a statement, “The accused head constable and others demanded bribe ₹15 lakh for not falsely implicating the woman in the case.” He stated that the accused had asked the complainant to deliver part of the payment ₹5 crore by Tuesday.
Acting on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap on the same day and caught the accused in the alleged act of taking over ₹2 million as part of the total bribe amount ₹15 lakhs.
The accused senior constable has been arrested, the agency added.
(With agency input)
