New Delhi: Observing that he occupied a crucial position linked to the security, integrity, and sovereignty of the nation and faces “quite serious” allegations, a Delhi court Friday dismissed the bail plea of Lieutenant Colonel Deepak Kumar Sharma in a corruption case.
Special CBI Judge Gagandeep Singh also dismissed the arguments of Sharma’s counsel that the Lieutenant olonel had no role in securing approval from the government for the transportation of goods for the Dubai-based logistics company DP World.
On the contrary, the judge observed, the materials presented before the court so far revealed Sharma’s active involvement in obtaining approvals for DP World to transport defence goods to Armenia.
Sharma’s team of counsels, including advocates Harsh K. Sharma, Vaibhavi Sharma, and Lakshya Parashar, argued before the court that the CBI failed to produce any materials on record to establish Sharma’s role in obtaining approvals for DP World.
Posted as a deputy planning officer in the defence production department’s international cooperation and exports division under the Ministry of Defence, Sharma was arrested last month on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs 3 lakh from a middleman on behalf of DP World.
The agency has since alleged before the court that Sharma took another instalment of the same amount in October last year as a bribe from members of the same alleged syndicate.
The agency booked Sharma, his wife, and two DP World representatives, Rajiv Yadav and Ravjit Singh, along with Vinod Kumar, who delivered the bribe amount to Sharma under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Sources with the agency said that Ravjit Singh, a former Colonel in the Army, has also been questioned by officers probing the case.
“The first and foremost ground addressed on behalf of the accused/applicant is that he had no role with respect to the approvals in respect of the consignments relating to M/s DP World. The said argument appears to be against the record at this stage. The various applications for judicial remand as well as the case diaries reflect that the accused/applicant was very much involved in obtaining the approvals qua (in respect to) the transportation of defence export goods of M/s DP World to Armenia,” Special Judge Singh observed in the order.
He further observed that Sharma was in possession of sensitive details, in an important role coordinating with authorities such as the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. “The said evidence is still being scrutinised, and the investigation is at the nascent stage,” the judge observed in the order passed Friday.
According to the court, in consideration of Sharma’s role and rank before he was taken into custody by the CBI, the possibility of his influencing the probe and the witnesses, including his seniors or colleagues, while the investigation is nascent, cannot be ruled out.
“It is also alleged by the prosecution that the accused/applicant was occupying a crucial post as deputy planning officer (international cooperation & exports), Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, and thus was performing crucial tasks assigned to him. The said tasks were closely linked to the security, integrity, and sovereignty of the nation,” the judge further observed.
“Thus, the allegations against the applicant are quite serious. In the said backdrop, the possibility of the accused/applicant influencing the investigation or the witnesses, which includes senior or junior colleagues, also cannot be ruled out, while the investigation of the case is at a nascent stage,” he further said.
After arresting Sharma, the agency had carried out searches at his official residence in Delhi as well as the residence of his wife, a Colonel-rank officer in Rajasthan, leading to the recovery of cash, amounting to Rs 2.23 crore and Rs 10 lakh, respectively.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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