Anup Kumar Srivastava Vs State Thr. CBI (Delhi High Court)
In the case of Anup Kumar Srivastava Vs State Thr. CBI before the Delhi High Court, the petitioner, a former Commissioner of Excise, Delhi, along with co-accused, faced charges under Section 120-B of IPC and Sections 7, 12, and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The charges arose from an alleged conspiracy to conduct an illegal raid on 28th December 2011 at the premises of certain individuals to extract a bribe of ₹60 lakh. Based on source information, a trap was conducted on 2nd January 2012, resulting in the recovery of ₹3 lakh in the presence of independent witnesses. Investigation included 96 intercepted phone calls revealing communication between the accused, indicating that petitioner and his co-accused were allegedly informed about the raid and the amounts collected in cryptic language.
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The prosecution claimed that petitioner, at the request of a co-accused (A-3), deputed another co-accused (A-2) to carry out the raid and was kept informed about the results, including the bribe, via coded phone conversations. Petitioner’s counsel argued for quashing the charges, contending that when two views are possible on the same evidence, it cannot give rise to grave suspicion to justify a trial. Reliance was placed on multiple Supreme Court rulings emphasizing that suspicion alone cannot warrant framing charges unless the material supports a strong inference of criminal conspiracy.
