The Special Judge, CBI Court, Delhi, on Tuesday granted bail to R. Dhanapal Raj, former Vice-Chairman of Bar Council of India and former member of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu, who was arrested for alleged offences under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Judge Sanjev Jain granted him bail under Section 167 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code on his executing a personal bond for Rs. 50,000 with one surety for a like sum. For, the CBI failed to file the charge sheet against him within the stipulated 60 days.
Initially a case was registered on December 20, 2010 and the main accused, R.S. Rana, was arrested. Mr. Raj was arrested on February 17, after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected. The first information report says Mr. Rana, member, Bar Council of Delhi, entered into a criminal conspiracy with the petitioner to demand illegal gratification from Manish Tyagi, another accused, for conducting an inspection of a law college and for giving a favourable report for recognition of the institution.
In his bail application, Mr. Raj said: “There is no prima facie case or direct allegation against him, and no substantive evidence had been collected against the petitioner at the lapse of three months from the date of registration of the FIR. The petitioner is no way connected with the crime and has been falsely implicated.”
Mr. Raj said there was absolutely no material to show that Mr. Rana had shared the illegal gratification with him. Nor was there any material “to show that the petitioner had received any money from the college or from Manish Tyagi for the purpose of giving a favourable report.”
A sum of Rs. 45 lakh was recovered from the house of his brother-in-Law, Chandrasekhar, an income tax assessee for the past more than 30 years and who was running a lodge in south Tamil Nadu. Mr. Raj said he had nothing to do with the money.
He was not at all present in Delhi and was in Chennai when a trap was laid on the BCI premises, where the money was alleged to have been transferred to Mr. Rana.
