Gautam Navlakha vs. National Investigation Agency, 2021 SCC OnLine SC 382—Distinguished.

Chakradhari Sharan Singh, J.—The petitioner is an accused in Special Case No. 3 of 2022 arising out of RC 8(A) of 2022 registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI for short) for the offences punishable under Sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 read with Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. A copy of the FIR has been brought on record by way of Annexure-1 to the writ petition, from which it transpires that the petitioner is one of the Directors of M/s Abha Agro Industries Private Limited and M/s Abha Agro Export Private Limited. Based on a secret information to the effect that the petitioner and other persons, under a well-made conspiracy with the officials of East Central Railway Headquarter (ECR), Hajipur were availing out-of-turn allotment of railway rake services, having extra stacking time for their firms and other undue advantages in exchange of payment of huge bribes on monthly basis to the public servants, a trap was laid by a CBI team on 31.07.2022, during the course of which the petitioner’s driver was caught giving bribe to a co-accused Sanjay Kumar