Bail granted to CGST officer, 2 others as CBI fails to file chargesheet

A CBI court granted default bail to CGST superintendent Sachin Gokulka and two co-accused due to failure to file a chargesheet within 60 days.

MUMBAI: Observing that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) failed to file a chargesheet within 60 days after arresting the accused, a special CBI court on Tuesday granted default bail to Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) superintendent Sachin Gokulka and two other co-accused, arrested by the agency earlier for allegedly threatening and demanding a bribe of ₹60 lakh from a Malad-based businessman by threatening him with arrest in a tax evasion case.

Bail granted to CGST officer, 2 others as CBI fails to file chargesheet

The default bail was granted as the CBI failed to file a chargesheet within 60 days from the date of arrest of the accused, going beyond the mandatory time limit.

The CBI court in October had rejected the bail of Gokulka and the co-accused, chartered accountant Raj Agarwal and consultant Abhishek Mehta, who were involved in the bribery case. Four other CGST officers, including an additional commissioner and a joint commissioner from Indian Revenue Service, were also arrested by the CBI in the case.

The defence submitted that the investigating body was required to file a chargesheet within 60 days from the date of arrest of the accused, adding that otherwise it violates article 21 of the Indian constitution (no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law). The accused were arrested on September 6, and the CBI is yet to file a chargesheet in the case, argued the defence.

The prosecution submitted that they filed the chargesheet immediately after the current bail plea was filed, adding that there were serious charges against the accused, thus seeking the cancellation of the bail.

Observing that the default bail, also known as statutory bail or compulsory bail, is a legal right, the special sessions judge SH Gwalani said, “Should the investigation remain incomplete and the chargesheet not filed within the designated period, the accused individual becomes eligible for default bail”.

Calculating the time since the accused were produced before the court, the judge said that the statutory period of 60 days has expired. “This court would have no option but to release the applicant/accused on bail,” he said.

Based on a complaint lodged by a Goregaon-based businessman with a pharmaceutical trading firm, an FIR had been registered against the accused. The complainant alleged that he was confined by the CGST officials and was subjected to verbal abuse for over 18 hours, during which the accused demanded ₹80 lakh in return for not arresting him and for favouring him in a tax-evasion probe. After negotiations, the bribe amount was later reduced to ₹60 lakh, of which ₹50 lakh was eventually paid.