A Delhi court on Tuesday extended the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody of a senior Income Tax official and a Chartered Accountant for two more days in connection with a bribery case linked to the government's "faceless" income tax assessment scheme.
The accused - Dinesh Kumar Agarwal, a Chartered Accountant and Vijayendra Ramchandra Murthy, a 2015-batch Indian Revenue Service officer - were produced before Principal District and Sessions Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna after their initial three-day remand expired. The CBI had sought five additional days of custody, but the court allowed only two, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
The arrests stem from allegations that the duo approached assessees with high-value pending income tax cases, offering favorable assessments in exchange for bribes. The faceless assessment scheme, introduced by the Finance Ministry to promote transparency and reduce corruption by eliminating direct contact between taxpayers and tax officials, appears to have been exploited by the accused.
Murthy, who was posted as a Deputy Commissioner at the Income Tax office in Jhandewalan, Delhi, was arrested in the capital, while Agarwal was apprehended in Bharuch, Gujarat. According to the CBI, electronic evidence and other incriminating data were recovered during the initial custody, warranting further interrogation and corroboration.
"Considering the nature of facts of the case, further two days police custody remand of accused persons namely Dinesh Kumar Agrawal and Vijayendra Ramchandra Murthy is granted for the purpose of effective investigation of the matter," the judge noted.
The probe agency also highlighted that other accused named in the FIR are yet to join the investigation and that understanding the complete modus operandi remains crucial.
Meanwhile, senior counsel representing Murthy contested the plea for extended custody, questioning the necessity of more time when the agency already had access to all documents and digital evidence.
The accused will next be produced before the court on 1st May.
CAclubindia
