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Journalism of Courage
A special CBI court on Thursday sentenced an assistant commissioner of GST to five years imprisonment for accepting a bribe of Rs 1.25 crore to ‘settle a case’ against a bar owner pending with the Enforcement Directorate.
Special Judge A V Kharkar pronounced Ashok Nayak guilty under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and directed him to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
According to submissions made by special public prosecutor Sandeep Singh, in 2017, a raid was conducted by officials of Panvel police station at a bar and restaurant, during Rs 1.50 crore cash and some jewellery were seized. The ED had summoned the two bar owners to inquire about the source of the money. Meanwhile, the complainant received a call from a person claiming to an ED official and directed him to meet Nayak. When they met, Nayak allegedly demanded Rs 15 crore which was renegotiated to Rs 10 crore for ‘settling’ the case with the ED. The complainant, unwilling to pay the bribe, approached the CBI Anti-Corruption Bureau.
On May 6, 2017, the ACB arrested Nayak redhanded while accepting Rs 1.25 crore—a part of the bribe amount. The CBI also arrested Nayak’s co-accused, one Dayanand Shetty, who passed away pending trial. The court said it was relying on evidence, including voice recording and transcription of the call, where the demand for the bribe was made.
Nayak (68) had said he had nothing to do with the ED, nor did he have any connections with the agency, to claim that he could settle the case. Further, he also submitted that the complainant had no pending case with his department or him so it does not seem plausible that he could demand or accept a bribe from him. The court discarded this claim.
“The accused was a public servant, who was expected to devote his sincere attention towards his duties and perform it honestly, instead he went out of the way and demanded illegal gratification to settle the matter by influencing the Investigating Officer by corrupt means. The act of the accused does not deserve any leniency,” the court said.
While Nayak had also claimed leniency on the ground that he has an unblemished career, the court relied on a report by a vigilance officer, who said that in the past too, he was found to have accepted money from a person and penalty was imposed then on him.
