New Delhi, Feb 15 (PTI) A Delhi court has granted bail to former CBI sub-inspector Abhishek Tiwari in a case related to the alleged leak of the probe agency's preliminary enquiry (PE) report purportedly giving clean chit to Maharashtra's ex-Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

Special judge Sanjeev Aggarwal granted relief to Tiwari, noting that the co-accused -- Deshmukh's lawyer Anand Daga and his social media Manager Gajendra Tumane -- having “almost similar role have already been released on bail”.

Also Read | Totally False to State That the Central Government Forces Any State to Buy Renewable … – Latest Tweet by PIB India.

The court granted the relief in its order passed on February 11 on a personal bonds in the sum of Rs 1 lakh with one surety of the like amount. It noted that the accused was in judicial custody for almost five months.

“The accused is an ex-CBI official and therefore has roots in the society. Further, the allegations of the present case do not pertain to economic offences of huge magnitude, therefore, it cannot per se be said to be falling under the category of grave offences,” the court noted.

Also Read | Delhi: 305 kg Ganja Valued at Rs 2 Crore Seized; One Arrested.

Therefore, on the grounds of parity, accused Abhishek Tiwari is also entitled to bail, the court said.

It also directed Tiwari to join further investigation, as and when required by the investigating agency and not to leave the country without prior permission of the court.

The court further directed Tiwari not to tamper with the evidence in any manner, or try to influence the witnesses.

Tiwari had moved the application seeking relief on the ground of parity, stating that the other two accused in the case - Daga and Tumane - have already been granted bail in the case.

He also stated that he was falsely implicated, and the investigation was already complete and that no useful purpose would be served by keeping him in jail.

The CBI opposed the application, saying that if the accused was released on bail, he could influence witnesses, tamper with the evidence and flee from justice.

It further said there was strong evidence against the accused as mentioned in the charge-sheet and the allegations against the accused were grave and serious in nature.

On August 29, 2021 a report that was allegedly part of a PE conducted by CBI got leaked in media. The report mentioned that the agency had concluded that "no cognizable offence has been committed by Anil Deshmukh".

The CBI in its internal inquiry found that Deshmukh's legal team tried to bribe some lower-ranked CBI officials in the PE.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)