The Madras High Court Bench on Wednesday granted bail to a woman police inspector who was arrested in Tiruchi for taking a bribe.
In her petition, S. Karthikayeni, the inspector of the All Women Police Station (AWPS) in Tiruverambur, claimed she was innocent of the charge.
According to her, the anti-corruption sleuths arrested her on June 27, 2013 for accepting Rs. 10,000 as bribe from a man for returning his passport which was in the custody of the police.
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) authorities had stated in their case that she had asked her subordinate Kristopher to accept the bribe on her behalf, Ms. Karthikayeni added.
“The entire bribe amount was recovered from Mr. Kristopher. The person, who claimed that he gave the bribe, submitted the complaint against the petitioner to the DVAC authorities to stall an investigation in a domestic violence case at the AWPS.
The DVAC sleuths booked the case against the petitioner without a preliminary inquiry,” contended T. Senthil Kumar, the petitioner’s counsel, denying the claims made by the DVAC authorities in their case.
The counsel further contended that Ms. Karthikayeni should be granted bail as she had to take care of her six-month-old child. Besides, the petitioner herself was admitted in a Government Hospital and undergoing treatment, he added.
The witnesses in the case are officials and there is no question of tampering with the evidence, he further contended. In her judgment, Justice R. Mala granted bail to the petitioner and directed her to appear before the Metropolitan Magistrate, Chennai until further orders.
