Karnataka High Court slams corruption in government offices, denies bail to official
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Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Saturday denied bail to a Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) official and noted that corruption is high in government offices.
Justice K Natarajan was addressing the bail plea of BT Raju, an assistant engineer at Bangalore Development Authority. He allegedly used land belonging to Suvvalal Jain and Suresh Chand Jain for a road without proper acquisition proceedings.
The court said corruption has become rampant in government offices nowadays. "No file will be moved without any bribe."
The accused was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh in cash on June 7, 2022. He allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 1 crore and negotiated it down to Rs 60 lakh. The ACB had earlier received a call recording in which he demanded the bribe and later caught him while accepting the bribe in a car.
The High Court while dismissing the bail plea said that the telephonic conversation and the hand wash made by the ACB, all reveal that the petitioner accepted the tainted notes wherein the police smeared phenolphthalein powder.
An application for an alternative site in place of the land was filed by their GPA (General Power of Attorney) holder Manjunath. The judge said he is of the view that the petitioner is not entitled to the grant of bail at this stage.
The application by Manjunath was filed in November 2021 before the Bangalore Development Authority. It was then moved to the Additional Land Acquisition Officer and then to the Surveyor and then Executive Engineer (West). Finally, it reached Raju on January 3, 2022. He allegedly kept it pending.
