In a significant ruling, a Special CBI Court presided over by Judge Rajeev Goyal declared the arrest of two accused - Tanoj Yadav and Aakash Rohilla - in a high-profile bribery case involving CGST officials as illegal, ordering their immediate release from custody.
The duo had been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) following a complaint by Manoj Malik, who alleged that four individuals, impersonating CGST Faridabad officials, including Inspector Bhagat Singh and Superintendent Tanoj Yadav, had demanded a bribe of Rs 10 lakh to avert a proposed Rs 1.5 crore tax demand against his wife's firm. During a CBI-led trap, Aakash Rohilla was allegedly caught red-handed accepting the bribe.
Despite the arrest, the defence argued that due process was not followed. Advocates representing Tanoj Yadav contended that the accused were not provided with written grounds of arrest at the time of detention - a requirement protected under Article 22(1) of the Constitution and Section 50 of the CrPC.
Relying on precedent set by the Supreme Court in Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi) and Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India, the defence maintained that the mere verbal or visual display of arrest grounds was insufficient. The court, upon review, concurred that while grounds were shown in documents, they were not physically handed over to the accused - a procedural lapse deemed unconstitutional.
As a result, the court dismissed the CBI's remand plea, accepted the defence's argument, and ruled the arrest as legally invalid. Both Yadav and Rohilla were released immediately, and the matter was closed with directions to consign the papers to the record room.
The case underscores the critical importance of procedural compliance in arrests by investigative agencies and could influence future cases involving the rights of the accused under custodial actions.
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