KOCHI: A CBI Special Court on Saturday dismissed a bail petition filed by an officer of the National Rural Road Development Agency, who was arrested on the charge of taking a bribe.
During the hearing, the CBI submitted that if bail was given to the arrested officer, Santosh Kumar Dubey, National Quality Monitor and a native of Madhya Pradesh, it would affect the course of the investigation. The agency said there was a need to interrogate the agents of contractors, who had allegedly given the bribe to the accused officer.
The counsel for the accused, on the other hand, held that the officer was not a government servant and the Prevention of Corruption Act could not be invoked against him. Holding that the National Quality Monitor had no role in certifying the quality of the constructed roads, the counsel submitted that the officer had been trapped by the contractors.
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The court, however, said that the accused had been serving the government in public interest and he could be charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Noting that the investigation was in its crucial stage, the court dismissed the bail plea.
Dubey landed in CBI custody last week for allegedly accepting a bribe from construction contractors. The Central agency also seized ₹2.44 lakh of the bribe money from the hotel room of the accused in Palakkad.
Dubey is currently lodged in the Kakkanad district prison under judicial custody.
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