India News | CBI Court Grants Bail to Inspector Pradeep Singh After 54 Days' Custody in Rs 3 Crore Bribery Case
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday granted regular bail to Pradeep Singh after 54 days of custody in an alleged Rs 3 crore bribery case.
New Delhi [India], August 1 (ANI): The Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday granted regular bail to Pradeep Singh after 54 days of custody in an alleged Rs 3 crore bribery case.
He was serving as an Inspector in Delhi Police at the time of arrest on June 9. Three accused, including one IPS officer, have been granted bail by the court.
It is alleged that Pradeep Singh, while serving as an Inspector of Delhi Police, hatched a conspiracy to manipulate and influence a CBI investigation in a case of alleged fake drug manufacturing racket.
It is also alleged that a bribe of Rs 3 crore was demanded and an advance amount of Rs 1 crore was sent through hawala channels.
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Special CBI judge Sushant Changotra granted bail to Pradeep Singh after considering the submissions of his counsel, the period of custody he has undergone, the ground of parity and other circumstances.
"I am of the considered view that the applicant is entitled to be released on bail," the Special Judge said on August 1.
The court ordered, "Accordingly, the present bail application is allowed and accused Pradeep Singh is ordered to be released on bail upon his furnishing of bonds in the sum of Rs 50,000 with one surety of like amount."
The court said, "As regards the grounds of parity, the allegations against the applicant are materially the same as have been levelled against accused Rajkumar. The said accused has already been admitted to bail."
"Therefore, in view of the similar role ascribed to the applicant, he is entitled to bail on the ground of parity," Special Judge Changotra said.
He also noted the submissions of the CBI that the investigation has, for all practical purposes, been completed with only the CFSL report relating to the digital device remaining to be received.
The applicant was arrested on June 9, 2026 and has remained in custody for approximately 54 days, the court said.
While granting bail, the court noted that no further custodial interrogation of the applicant is required, and his continued incarceration would not advance the cause of investigation.
The allegations against the accused Pradeep Singh are that he was serving as an Inspector in Delhi Police. He hatched a criminal conspiracy with the other accused with the aim of manipulating and influencing the investigation of a criminal case being investigated by CBI through the intervention of a senior public servant, namely IPS Deepak Gahlawat (who was posted as Regional Director, Directorate of Civil Aviation) for a total consideration of Rs 3 crore.
It is further alleged that on May 14, 2026, the applicant along with the other accused, namely N. Raja, Rajkumar and Prabhat Kapoor, met accused Deepak Gahlawat in his office, where the applicant assured accused N. Raja of securing favourable relief in the investigation being conducted by CBI in respect of the case which had been transferred to CBI from Puducherry.
It is further alleged that a sum of Rs 24.70 lakh was recovered jointly from the applicant and Rajkumar, an additional sum of Rs 25 lakhs was recovered from the residence of Pradeep Singh and a sum of Rs 50 lakhs was recovered from Rajiv Khosla and Bharat Tandon.
Advocates Roshan Wadhwa, Arun Kanwa and Arvind Malik appeared for Pradeep Singh.
The counsel for the accused argued that the case of the investigating agency against the applicant is that he had conspired with accused N. Raja. As per allegations, the applicant was not the accused in the case which was registered under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act at Puducherry. The recovery of Rs 24.70 lakhs has been wrongly shown from the applicant.
It was further argued that the investigating agency has been changing its case qua recovery of the alleged bribe amount from time to time. At one point, CBI alleged that demand of initial amount of Rs. 1.5 crores was made, but later on the said amount got changed to Rs. 1 crore.
While opposing the bail application, the CBI counsel argued that allegations against the accused are grave. Mere completion of investigation does not entitle him to the grant of bail. He also argued that the bail cannot be granted to the applicant on the grounds of parity as his role is distinct from that of the other accused who have been granted bail.
He further argued that there is no change in circumstances for filing the second bail application by accused Pradeep Singh. (ANI)
(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)