Tamil Nadu: Madurai Bench Denies Bail To ED Official Ankit Tiwari In Rs 20 Lakh Bribery Case

The Madras High Court, on Wednesday (20 Wednesday), denied bail to Ankit Tiwari, an Enforcement Directorate Officer arrested by the Tamil Nadu Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Wing as reported by Livelaw.

Tiwari faced allegations of extorting a Rs 20 lakh bribe from a government doctor under the threat of reopening a case against him.

Justice V Sivagnanam of the Madurai Bench dismissed Tiwari's bail petition, who was arrested by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) earlier this month.

The DVAC accused Tiwari of initially demanding Rs 3 crore from Dr Suresh Babu to close a pending case against him, later reducing it to Rs 51 lakh.

A partial payment of Rs 20 lakh was allegedly made on 1 November 2023, leading to Tiwari's arrest after continued demands for the balance.

Tiwari argued that his arrest lacked merit under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, contending that no case was registered or pending against the doctor.

He asserted that the criminal prosecution was initiated with malafides.

Opposing the bail plea, State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohammed Jinnah argued that Tiwari's arrest was supported by evidence.

The prosecutor revealed the involvement of several top officials from the Enforcement Directorate in the bribery case, emphasising the need for further investigation to unveil more details.

The prosecution informed the court about the seizure of a crucial document from Tiwari containing details of 75 individuals involved in the bribery case, requiring further examination.

Steps were taken to analyze Tiwari's seized cell phone, laptop, voice recordings, and video recordings showing him accepting a bribe from the car dashboard.

Arguing that enforcement officials were attempting to shield Tiwari, the prosecution contended that granting bail would impede the ongoing investigation.