29 May,2026 05:53 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
Thane court acquits former ROC employee in alleged Rs 800 bribery case (Representational image)
A special CBI court in Thane on May 28 acquitted a former central government employee accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 800, observing that mere recovery of currency notes without absolute proof of a demand was insufficient to hold him guilty.
As reported by PTI, Special Judge D S Deshmukh on Thursday acquitted Arvind Motiram Sawant, who worked as a clerk in the office of the Registrar of Companies (ROC) at CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai, at the time of the alleged offence in August 2006.
According to the arguments presented in the court by the prosecution, the complainant had approached the ROC to urgently obtain certified copies of the incorporation documents and the Memorandum of Association of a private company to initiate legal proceedings against unauthorised constructions, as per PTI.
It was alleged that Sawant demanded Rs 1,000 to expedite the process, which was later brought down to Rs 800. After being alerted, the CBI laid a trap on August 22, 2006, and recovered "tainted" currency notes from the accused.
However, during cross-examination, the defence established that the accused was not the final signing authority for issuing certified copies and lacked the jurisdiction to release documents in the custody of the ROC.
The court, during the trial, further noted that the standard official protocol involved depositing fees via a challan, and the discussed amount could have been related to the state's official challan charges rather than a personal bribe.
It also said that the electronic footprint produced by the prosecution did not directly implicate the accused.
The court, while acquitting Sawant of all charges, said, "The evidence of recovery of a tainted amount from an accused when evidence of the previous demand is lacking, or is not satisfactory, would be totally insufficient to hold the accused guilty for having committed an offence," as per PTI.
In a different scenario, a special CBI court in Thane also acquitted a suspended Income Tax officer and his wife in a disproportionate assets case registered nearly two decades ago, while strongly criticising the investigation carried out by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), reported PTI.
Special CBI Court Judge DS Deshmukh, while delivering the order on Tuesday, observed that the investigation suffered from serious flaws and described the agency's approach as "casual" and "erroneous", reported PTI.
The court acquitted Anil Ratnakar Mallel, then posted as an Income Tax Officer in Thane, and his wife Suvarna Anil Mallel of charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 109 of the Indian Penal Code related to abetment, reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
