CBI Arrests Advocate and ITAT Judicial Member for Alleged Bribery Network to Influence Tribunal Appeals
The Central Bureau of Investigation has unearthed an alleged criminal network involving an Advocate, a Judicial Member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Jaipur, an Assistant Registrar of ITAT, Jaipur, and other unknown public servants and private individuals who were purportedly engaged in corrupt activities to settle pending appeals before the ITAT Jaipur Bench in favour of appellants in exchange for money. The case was registered on 25 November 2025 against the advocate and several others, including the Judicial Member and the Assistant Registrar of ITAT, Jaipur.
According to the CBI, the operation was initiated based on source information indicating that the group was involved in facilitating favourable appeal outcomes before the Tribunal against bribes routed through intermediaries. During the trap proceedings, the Advocate linked with the ITAT was arrested on 25 November 2025, allegedly receiving a bribe of ₹5.5 lakh paid by an appellant through a hawala network.
The following day, the Judicial Member of the ITAT, Jaipur, was arrested, with investigators allegedly recovering ₹30 lakh from her official car. The appellant who had reportedly paid the bribe was also arrested on the same day. The CBI further recorded that the structured cash trail and the mode of exchange pointed towards the functioning of an organised syndicate rather than isolated misconduct.
Following the arrests, the agency carried out massive search operations across Jaipur, Kota and other locations. Multiple CBI teams seized more than ₹1 crore in cash, transaction details, property documents and several other materials described as incriminating. The seized documents are said to shed light on the alleged mechanism of influencing judicial proceedings in the Tribunal in exchange for money. The CBI has stated that the search operations and subsequent investigative actions are still underway. The process of analysing seized electronic and physical evidence continues, and the agency has indicated that further arrests and findings cannot be ruled out at this stage.
