Bengaluru Court Sentences Former ED Officer To 3 Years In Prison For Bribe Demand, ₹5 Lakh Fine Imposed
Pranav B Prem
A Bengaluru court has convicted former Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer Lalit Bazad for demanding and accepting a bribe from a finance company under investigation in connection with Chinese Loan Apps, sentencing him to three years’ simple imprisonment and a fine of ₹5 lakh for corruption, along with one year’s simple imprisonment and a ₹50,000 fine for extortion. Both sentences will run concurrently.
Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge and Principal Special Judge for CBI Cases, Manjunath Sangreshi, held that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused, while serving as an Enforcement Officer at ED Bengaluru, had initially demanded ₹50 lakh from Mikhil Innani, Managing Director and CEO of M/s Apollo Finvest India Ltd., threatening to freeze the company’s bank accounts, drag on the matter for ten years, and ruin its reputation. Eventually, he extorted ₹5 lakh on 09 February 2021 through a chain of intermediaries, with the money being delivered to him via a valet at Levels Pub and Kitchens, JP Nagar, Bengaluru.
Case Background
On 28 and 29 January 2021, Innani, accompanied by relatives, visited the ED office in Bengaluru in connection with ECIR No. 3/2021. The accused demanded ₹50 lakh to “close the matter” and threatened serious consequences if the demand was not met. When the company challenged the freezing of its accounts before the Telangana High Court and secured relief, the accused summoned Innani again on 09 February 2021, reiterating his demand. That evening, ₹5 lakh was arranged and handed over via intermediaries to the valet of the pub where the accused was present. CCTV footage and witness testimonies corroborated the sequence of events.
Defence Arguments and Court’s Findings
Bazad denied the charges, arguing that the CBI had not obtained proper prior permission to investigate under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act) and that there was delay in FIR registration. The court rejected these contentions, noting that valid prior permission had been obtained and that delay in lodging the FIR was neither unexplained nor fatal to the prosecution. The court also examined the sanction for prosecution under Section 19 of the PC Act, finding it valid. Testimony from the sanctioning authority, then Commissioner of GST and Central Excise, Chennai, confirmed that all relevant materials were considered before granting sanction.
Assessment of Evidence
The court relied on the direct evidence of PW-1 (Innani) and corroborating testimonies from PW-2 to PW-16, establishing both the demand and acceptance of the bribe. Witnesses traced the movement of the ₹5 lakh from its source to its delivery, while CCTV footage from the pub corroborated key events. The valet who received the packet and placed it in the accused’s car, as well as a companion of the accused who later received ₹50,000 from the same envelope, provided crucial links.
Referring to Section 20 of the PC Act, the court held that once demand and acceptance of illegal gratification by a public servant is proved, a legal presumption arises that it was as a motive or reward for improper or dishonest performance of public duty. The accused failed to rebut this presumption.
Holding that Bazad abused his official position to demand and accept a bribe, the court sentenced him to three years’ simple imprisonment and ₹5 lakh fine under Section 7 of the PC Act, and one year’s simple imprisonment with ₹50,000 fine under Section 384 IPC, with sentences to run concurrently.
Appearance:
For the Complainant: Senior Public Prosecutor
For the Accused: Sri.Sanket M. Yenagi, Advocate
Cause Title: The State by CBI/ACB, Bengaluru V. Lalit Bazad
Case No: Spl.C.C.No.9 /2022
Coram: Sri.Manjunath Sangreshi
