Karnataka High Court quashes corruption case against IPS officer Alok Kumar

The high court has quashed the proceedings against IPS officer Alok Kumar, currently working as ADGP (Traffic & Road Safety), in a case alleging demand of
bribe.

The complainant is B M Mallikarjuna alias Fighter Ravi had alleged that an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) had demanded the bribe on Alok Kumar’s behalf to settle an incident of altercation at Orange Bar & Restaurant coming under Vyalikaval police station limits.

Mallikarjuna claimed that he had been to the bar along with his friends and there was an altercation between them and the management of the bar and a case was registered against him.

The complainant had claimed that during the investigation in the crime, the ACP and other police officers repeatedly called him and demanded a bribe to close the case and in pursuance of which, he had also given Rs 5 lakh to the ACP.

According to the complainant, the ACP had called him again and demanded Rs one crore bribe. He had further claimed that one of his distant relatives, one Putte Gowda, working as PSI under Alok Kumar, was pressured for the money and upon refusal, he was kept under suspension.

In this case, the police had filed a ‘B’ report and allowing the protest petition filed by the complainant, on December 13, 2022, the special court had taken cognizance for offences punishable under sections 7, 13(1)(d) read with 13(2) of the PC Act against Alok Kumar. 

“Since there is no sanction accorded to prosecute the petitioner prior to the order of the Sessions Judge taking cognizance of the offence, I deem it appropriate to obliterate the proceedings against the petitioner, reserving liberty to the concerned court to proceed against the petitioner only after a valid sanction from the hands of the competent authority is placed before it,” Justice M Nagaprasanna said.