Bombay HC Orders Two-Day CBI Custody Of 3 CGST Officers In Alleged ₹40-Lakh Bribery Case

Mumbai, September 17, 2026: The Bombay High Court has set aside an order of the Thane Sessions Court and sent three CGST officers to two days’ CBI custody in an alleged Rs 40 lakh bribery case.

The court observed that the Sessions Court's order rejecting custody of CGST officers and granting them bail was passed “without application of mind and without perusing record properly”.

Justice Shivkumar Dige, on Wednesday, allowed the revision application filed by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch and directed the investigating officer to take the accused into custody.

Court Questions Sessions Order

The court observed that the Sessions Court had failed to properly examine the material placed on record while rejecting the CBI’s request for custodial interrogation.

The High Court described the allegations as serious and held that the lower court had not applied its mind to the investigation requirements. Justice Dige termed the Sessions Court’s findings against custodial interrogation “perverse” and said the order had been passed without properly considering the case diary and other material.

Rs 40 Lakh Bribery Allegation

The case concerns allegations that Rakesh Kumar Sinha, a CGST Superintendent, demanded an illegal gratification of Rs 1.5 crore from a complainant’s firm in connection with pending proceedings. The amount was later allegedly reduced to Rs 40 lakh.

According to the CBI, a trap was laid on August 27. Narinder Rajput was arrested while allegedly accepting Rs 40 lakh on Sinha’s behalf. The money was recovered from the rear of his car. The agency also claimed to have recovered Rs 34 lakh during a search of Rajput’s residence.

The CBI further alleged that Vinay Kumar Kantheti, an Additional Commissioner of CGST, was in regular contact with Rajput through FaceTime calls. The agency claimed that the bribe was to be shared with Kantheti and other senior officers.

Accused Challenge CBI Custody

The accused opposed the CBI’s custody plea, arguing that the grounds of arrest had not been properly communicated and that their arrests were illegal. They also claimed that the case diary was not maintained as required and that custodial interrogation was unnecessary since the alleged bribe money and mobile phones had already been recovered.

The High Court rejected these arguments. It noted that the accused had signed their arrest memoranda and that their family members and advocates had been informed about the arrests. The court also held that Section 48 of the BNSS does not require arrest information to be given to relatives in writing.

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Two-Day CBI Custody Ordered

The court quashed the Sessions Court’s August 28 order and directed that the accused be produced before it after the two-day CBI custody period ends.

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