Court rejects pre-arrest bail plea of FCI official booked in bribery case

Mumbai: A special CBI court rejected the anticipatory bail application of Navin Kumar, assistant general manager of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Mumbai Regional Office.
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He was booked along with a Hyderabad-based businessman for alleged corrupt practices in tender processes and payment clearance. The judge stated that considering the "nature and gravity of the offence" and the allegations against the accused, custodial interrogation was warranted to "unearth the conspiracy".
The judge remarked that the allegations levelled against the applicant cannot be brushed aside at this stage.
"There is no submission that the accused was falsely roped in or that the allegations are motivated or frivolous or that he has been framed with an oblique motive," said the judge.
The judge further noted that the material on record reveals that the officers of the FCI demanded bribes from private individuals to secure favourable orders in the ongoing tender process. The investigating officer has placed on record transcripts of telephone calls intercepted by the CBI, which indicate that the accused was a party to the conversation.
"The applicant was discussing the 'award' of the tender, as well as money to be paid to the 'general manager' for the award of the tender.
Moreover, another General Manager was apprehended while accepting a cash amount of Rs 20 lakh from the accused, Uma Maheshwar. There is prima facie evidence to indicate that the applicant was involved in accepting illegal gratification for securing a favourable outcome of tenders," the judge said.
According to the FIR, CBI received information indicating Kumar and another AGM, Srinivas Mylapalli, colluded with private persons to secure contracts and favourable tender results.

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