Mumbai, Jun 26 A special court here has acquitted a 59-year-old former sales tax officer in a 2015 bribery case, citing severe lapses in the investigation and a complete failure by the prosecution to prove the corruption charges.
Special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) judge, Shayana Patil, on Thursday ruled that the agency failed to establish that the accused, Kamlesh Chaukkar, had demanded or accepted any bribe from a Worli-based liquor businessman to waive a tax penalty.
The ACB had registered a case against Chaukkar based on a complaint filed by Maruti Suryavanshi in January 2015.
Suryavanshi, who co-owned a liquor business in Worli, had received a notice regarding unpaid professional tax for the financial year 2008-2009.
The prosecution alleged that Chaukkar demanded Rs 50,000 from the complainant to help him avoid a tax penalty amounting to approximately Rs 2 lakh. The demand was negotiated down to Rs 40,000 during a meeting at a hotel in Lower Parel.
Based on the complaint, the ACB set a trap on January 21, 2015, at Chaukkar's Bandra office, where he was accused of accepting a first instalment of Rs 20,000.
However, the court cited severe investigative lapses, unreliable witness testimonies, and compromised electronic evidence and acquitted the accused.
The judge concluded that the prosecution completely failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Chaukkar made any demand for a bribe or accepted illegal gratification.
