The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to Shekhar Kumar, an Assistant Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) posted in Kochi, who is facing allegations of demanding a ₹2 crore bribe from a businessman.
Justice A Badharudeen passed the order in the case titled Shekhar Kumar v. State of Kerala, offering relief to Kumar in a corruption case registered by the Ernakulam unit of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB).
According to the VACB, the case arose after a man introducing himself as an ED agent was apprehended while accepting ₹2 lakh from businessman Aneesh Babu, whose cashew trading operations were under ED investigation. Babu later lodged a complaint, alleging that a total of ₹2 crore had been demanded to settle the case.
Kumar has been charged under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act for bribery and Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for criminal conspiracy. Three other individuals, also named as accused, were arrested but released on bail last week by a Vigilance Court, which observed that they had not been informed of the grounds of their arrest.
In his anticipatory bail application, Kumar strongly denied the allegations, maintaining that he had been falsely implicated. His petition stated, “In the conspectus of all what is stated afore, it would result in a travesty of justice, if the applicant, a public servant with unblemished track record, is made to suffer the undeserved trauma of arrest and incarceration.”
Kumar further contended that complainant Babu was attempting to evade the legal proceedings initiated against him and that there had been no contact between him and the other accused. He also alleged that Babu had been a fugitive for several years.
Senior Advocate P Vijayabhanu led Kumar’s legal team, along with advocates K Aravind Menon, PM Rafiq, M Revikrishnan, Ajeesh K Sasi, Sruthy N Bhat, Rahul Sunil, Sruthy KK, Nanditha S, Sohail Ahammed Harris, and Aaron Zacharias Benny.
The court’s decision provides temporary relief to the ED officer as the investigation by the vigilance authorities continues.
