IMA scam: HC refuses to stay probe against IPS officer

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday declined to stay the investigation into the involvement of IPS officer Hemanth Nimbalkar in the I Monetary Advisory (IMA) case.

The special bench of the court, constituted to hear cases arising out of the special court for cases against legislators, was hearing the petition.

No coercive action

Justice John Michael Cunha directed the Central Bureau of Investigation not to take coercive action against Nimbalkar.

The IPS officer pleaded before the High Court to quash the FIR registered against him by the CBI.

The FIRs against Nimbalkar are for allegedly abetting IMA activities and under the Prevention of Corruption Act for accepting illegal gratification from IMA in the form of electronic gadgets and other gratifications to give favourable reports.

Nimbalkar claimed in his petition that his role in the Criminal Investigation Department was to forward the reports to the seniors, contending that the reports must be approved by his seniors in the department. He also alleged that the CBI filed two different FIRs in the same case.

P Prasanna Kumar, special public prosecutor for CBI, argued that the witnesses and material evidence in both the cases are different.

The prosecutor also said that the agency wants to conclude the investigation by April 2021 and has no proposals before it to arrest Nimbalkar.