Mumbai, October 20, 2026: A special CBI court has granted bail to Vikrant Verma, an executive engineer with the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Mumbai, who was arrested for allegedly demanding a bribe to issue a no-objection certificate (NOC). The court observed that the CBI had failed to comply with provisions requiring prior approval from the competent authority to investigate him.
The CBI had earlier this month arrested Verma, along with his relative Saurav Kumar, a Pune resident; Arvind Semwal, vice-president of Baya Group of Companies; Chetan Mahajan, a manager in the company; and A. Deshmukh, a partner in a firm operating under Baya. The court has allowed the bail pleas of all the accused.
CBI Alleges ₹70 Lakh Bribe Demand
The CBI registered the case on October 1, alleging that Verma had demanded an undue advantage of Rs 1 crore, later negotiated down to Rs 70 lakh, through Kumar, in exchange for issuing an NOC stating that the CPWD had no claim over a parcel of land in Wadala where the real estate group intended to undertake a construction project. The accused were arrested after a trap was laid to catch those allegedly accepting and giving the bribe.
Engineer Challenges Legality Of Arrest
While seeking bail, Verma claimed that his arrest on October 2 was illegal because the agency had failed to comply with the legal provisions governing the arrest of a person. He maintained that he was innocent, had not committed any offence alleged by the prosecution, and that his further custody was unwarranted and unnecessary.
Verma further contended that he had discharged his official duties diligently, honestly and in accordance with the law throughout his service career. He claimed that he had never been involved in any illegal activity and that no complaint or disciplinary proceedings had ever been initiated against him in connection with his service.
CBI Opposes Bail Plea
The plea was opposed by the CBI, which claimed that it had initiated the probe on the basis of information provided by a source on September 4. It further stated that property documents in the names of Verma’s wife and son-in-law had been recovered during a search.
The CBI also claimed that a substantial amount of money had been recovered from Verma during the investigation. It further contended that telephonic conversations and WhatsApp chats recovered during the probe showed the applicant’s alleged involvement in the offence.
Court Cites Lack Of Prior Approval
The court, however, observed that the legal provisions governing investigations against public servants specifically require prior approval before investigating the alleged offence. It noted that, admittedly, no such approval had been obtained by the investigating officer in this case, indicating a prima facie breach of the provisions.
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“Source information was received on September 04, till the arrest of applicant on October 2, there was no attempt made by CBI to obtain the necessary sanction from the competent authority for conducting the investigation against the applicant (Verma) being the public servant. Noncompliance of said provision itself goes to the root of the case and the arrest itself is found to be without following the provision of law,” the court said while granting bail.
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