Corruption has become rampant in government offices and no file moves without a bribe, said the Karnataka High Court as it refused bail to an assistant engineer of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).
Justice K Natarajan made the observations in a recent order while denying bail to K T Raju, who had allegedly demanded Rs 1 crore for passing a favourable order in a land case.
Raju, who had scaled down his demand to Rs 60 lakh, was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on June 7 while accepting an advance amount of Rs 5 lakh.
The ACB case was that a piece of land measuring 33 guntas in Kengeri village in the name of two persons was utilised by the BDA to form a road without any acquisition proceedings. A person with the General Power Attorney (GPA) on behalf of the original owners had moved an application seeking an alternative site, and had been moving from one section to another in the BDA.
On November 2, 2021, a BDA official forwarded the file to the Additional Land Acquisition Officer (ALAO) who in turn sent it to a surveyor. After passing through several officers, the file finally reached Raju on January 3, 2022. It was with him till his arrest on June 7.
On rejection of his bail application by a subordinate court, Raju moved the high court and contended that he is in custody for more than one and a half months. The engineer further claimed that mere acceptance of the amount cannot be grounds to show that he had demanded and accepted the bribe.
The counsel for the ACB contended that the conversation between the petitioner and the complainant clearly revealed the demand for bribe.
The telephonic conversation and the hand examination made by the ACB reveal that the petitioner had accepted the notes, the HC said.
"Nowadays, in government offices, corruption has become rampant and no file will be moved without any bribe. Therefore, I am of the view that the petitioner is not entitled for grant of bail at this stage,” Justice Natarajan said.
Published 19 August 2022, 18:56 IST