A CBI court here has allowed Lt Col Deepak Kumar Sharma accused of taking a bribe of Rs 3 lakh from a Dubai-based company to operate his four savings bank accounts in Jammu, saying the seizure cannot be an act in perpetuity to authorise the probe agency to bypass the law.
Special Judge Gagandeep Singh was hearing Sharma’s application for defreezing his bank accounts and a locker. The plea said that he had been granted bail but some bank accounts and lockers holding bona fide properties of the applicant and his family had been withheld by the CBI without following the law.
In an order dated May 7, the court noted that according to the allegations, a bribe amount of Rs 3 lakh was recovered from Sharma’s residence on December 18 last year and a search also resulted in a recovery of over Rs 2.23 crore.
It noted that a search was also conducted at the residence of his wife, Col. Kajal Bali, CO, 16 Infantry Division Ordnance Unit (DOU), Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan.
The CBI had said that a cash amount of Rs 10 lakh was also recovered from the residential premises of his wife.
The court said, “Accordingly, the bank accounts as well as lockers of the applicant (Sharma) came to be seized. It is thus apparent from the allegations in the present case that the said bank accounts or seizure of locker articles or their operation, of the applicant herein, are not connected to the case in hand.”
“However, the said seizure is connected to a preliminary inquiry initiated by the investigating authority against the applicant herein and her family for being found in possession of disproportionate assets as punishable under Section 13 (1) (b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.”
It said that to date, despite the seizure of said bank accounts and the bank lockers for the last around five months, no decision had been taken for registration of the fresh FIR against Sharma and his family members regarding the said allegations of disproportionate assets.
The court noted that earlier, on April 2, while arguing against Sharma’s plea, the CBI sought one month to decide regarding registration of an FIR regarding the seized assets but the situation remained the same on the present date.
The court said that a new procedure was envisaged under Sections 106 and 107 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), requiring the officer making the seizure to report it to the jurisdictional magistrate, following which the court could pass an order regarding retention by the probe agency, but in the present case, no formal report concerning the seizure of the bank accounts had been filed.
“The said act of seizure cannot be ‘the act in perpetuity’ thereby authorising the Investigating Authority to bypass the due procedure established under Section 107 (attachment, forfeiture or restoration of property ) of the BNSS 2023 or under Section 18 (A) (attachment and forfeiture of property procured through corruption) of the PC (Prevention of Corruption) Act read with the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance Act,” the court said.
“The court cannot act as a mute spectator to the said non-following of the due procedure established by law,” it added.
The court directed the bank managers concerned to permit Sharma to operate four separate savings bank accounts in Jammu, subject to Sharma furnishing indemnity bonds equivalent to the available balance in the accounts.
It said, “The indemnity bond shall incorporate the condition to deposit the said available balance amount as and when directed by the court.”
Regarding the operation of a bank locker, the court declined permission, saying Sharma was merely its joint holder and none of the joint holders sought permission for operating it.
According to the agency, Sharma “was occupying a crucial post as the deputy planning officer (international cooperation and exports) in the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, and thus, was performing crucial tasks assigned to him”.
It alleged that Sharma “habitually indulged in corrupt and illegal activities” in criminal conspiracies with the representatives of various private companies dealing in defence products manufacturing, export and the like.
Sharma obtained bribes from companies in exchange for providing undue favours to them, the federal agency had alleged.