2026:CGHC:113 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 9309 of 2025 Hem Kumar Panigrahi S/o Late Shri Bhumanya Prasad Panigrahi Aged About 45 Years Assistant Grade-Iii/ Reader, Tahsil Office, Darbha, Distt- Bastar C.G., R/o Village- Titargaon, Tahsil Jagdalpur, District- Bastar C.G.

... Applicant versus State of Chhattisgarh Through P.S. EOW/ACB Jagdalpur, District Bastar C.G.

... Non-Applicant For Applicant : Mr. Keshav Dewangan, Advocate For Non-Applicant/State : Mr. Dharmesh Shrivastava, Dy. A.G.

Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha , Chief Justice

Order on Board

02.01.2026

1. The applicant has preferred this First Bail Application under Section

483 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of regular bail, as he has been arrested in connection with Crime No. 59/2025, registered at Police Station – EOW/ACB, Jagdalpur, District Bastar, (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Section 07 of Prevention of Corruption Act, Amended, 2018.

2. The facts of the case, in brief, are that the complainant, namely RAHUL DEWANGAN Samnath Baghel, appeared before the office of the Deputy Digitally signed by RAHUL DEWANGAN Superintendent of Police, Anti-Corruption Bureau, Jagdalpur, and submitted a written complaint stating that he is a resident of Gram Panchayat Chhindwara. His wife, Samwati Baghel, died due to a snake bite on 27.05.2025, in respect of which a report was lodged at Police Station Darbha, and thereafter a letter was forwarded from the said police station to the Tehsil Office, Darbha for grant of compensation. Subsequently, the complainant contacted Hem Kumar Panigrahi, a Clerk Grade-III posted at Tehsil Darbha, who assured him that the work would be done and demanded an illegal gratification of ₹50,000/- after completion of the work. On 13.10.2025, an amount of ₹4,00,000/- was deposited into the complainant’s Bank of Baroda account, and thereafter the accused demanded ₹50,000/- for processing the compensation case. As the complainant was unwilling to pay the bribe, he lodged a complaint before the ACB, Jagdalpur. On the direction of the ACB, a voice recorder was provided to the complainant, and the conversation regarding the demand of ₹25,000/- was recorded and verified, upon which a prima facie case was registered as Unnumbered Crime No. 0/2025 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018) against the accused Hem Kumar Panigrahi. Thereafter, on 29.10.2025, after appointment of an independent gazetted officer by the Collector, Bastar, the accused was caught red-handed by the trap party at the Tehsil Office, Darbha, while accepting a bribe amount of ₹25,000/-. Subsequently, the accused was arrested on 30.10.2025 at 15:20 hours, and FIR No. 59/2025 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended) was registered, and the investigation is presently underway. Hence, the present bail application has been filed.

3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has no connection whatsoever with the alleged offence. He was not the competent or authorised authority to sanction or release the compensation amount to the complainant, and therefore no motive or occasion arises for demanding any bribe. It is further submitted that due to previous enmity, the complainant has falsely implicated the applicant. As per the prosecution case itself, no bribe amount was recovered from the possession of the applicant and the alleged money was found from the complainant’s bag, which clearly demolishes the prosecution story. The essential ingredient of demand, which is sine qua non for an offence under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, has not been established, as no independent witness has supported the alleged demand. The applicant, being a Clerk Grade-III and a government servant posted in Bastar district, has remained in custody since 30.10.2025, and the conclusion of the trial is likely to take a considerable amount of time. Therefore, he prays