Bribery case: Madras High Court rejects bail plea by ED officer Ankit Tiwari

On December 20, 2023, the Madras High Court dismissed the bail plea filed by ED (Enforcement Directorate) officer Ankit Tiwari who was arrested for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs. 20 lakh. He was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) wing on December 01, 2023. The DVAC said that ED officer Tiwari demanded a sum of Rs. 3 crore from a government doctor, Dr. Suresh Babu, as a bribe to close the pending case against him. It further mentioned that Tiwari later agreed to an amount of Rs. 51 lakh and the doctor had paid him 20 lakh rupees. The plea was rejected by a single-judge bench of the Madras HC comprising of Justice V Sivagnanam. 

ED officer Anki Tiwari, in his bail plea, claimed that the case of bribery against him was mala fide. He added, there was no reason for him to demand a bribe from the concerned doctor as there were no pending cases against the doctor. Tiwari further said that according to Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, a public servant or any public officer can only be prosecuted if he/ she receives gratification other than legal remuneration “as a motive or reward for doing or forbearing to do any official act or for showing or forbearing to show, in the exercise of his official functions, favor or disfavor to any person or for rendering or attempting to render any service or disservice to any person.” After hearing the arguments, the bench however dismissed the bail application.