IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL

1^st Bail Application No. 2537 of 2024 Rajesh Kumar ……Applicant Versus Central Bureau of Investigation ...…Respondent Presence Mr. Ayush Kaushik, Ms. Gurbani Singh, learned counsels for the Applicant Mr. Piyush Garg, learned counsel on behalf of CBI.

Hon’ble Ashish Naithani, J ( Oral)

This is a bail application filed by the applicant accused Rajesh Kumar, son of Late Shri Nain Singh, aged about 59 years, resident of 18, Type-IV 5A, BHEL Quarters, Ranipur, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, seeking his release in connection with FIR No. RC0072024A0012 dated 23.09.2024, registered at Police Station: Central Bureau of Investigation, Anti-Corruption Branch, Dehradun, for offences under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

2. The applicant was arrested on 25.09.2024 following a trap laid by the CBI pursuant to a complaint lodged by one Arvind Kumar, a contractual security supervisor working at Kendriya Vidyalaya, BHEL, Ranipur, Haridwar.

3. According to the complaint, Rajesh Kumar, by virtue of his official position as Principal, was coercing the complainant to collect a monthly sum of Rs. 10,000 from each of the outsourced support staff, including guards, gardeners, and cleaning personnel, employed through the same agency, under the threat that failure to do so would result in the termination of their services.

4. Arvind Kumar had been working at Kendriya Vidyalaya for over a decade and was additionally entrusted with supervisory responsibilities over the other contractual workers.

5. He alleged that Rajesh Kumar repeatedly threatened him and demanded that he collect a monthly bribe from all such workers and hand it over to the Principal. Refusing to succumb to such coercion, the complainant filed a formal written complaint on 21.09.2024 with the CBI.

6. Acting upon the said complaint, the CBI initiated verification proceedings on 23.09.2024, during which Arvind Kumar was equipped with a Sony digital voice recorder carrying an ADATA 15GB SD card.

7. The complainant entered the office of the Principal while the device was on, and although the first attempt to record the conversation failed due to the presence of other persons, the second attempt led to a successful recording in which the Principal allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs. 80,000, later reducing it to Rs. 50,000-60,000 for a period covering 10 to 11 months of continued employment of eight workers.

8. The recorded conversation was verified by the CBI team and found to contain both the complainant's and the accused's voices, which were later authenticated by witnesses and school staff.

9. On 24.09.2024, a trap was laid at Hotel Stallion in Shivalik Nagar, Haridwar, where the complainant was introduced to the CBI trap team and two independent witnesses an officer from Punjab National Bank and an Administrative Officer from LIC.

10. The complainant was again given a digital voice recorder and Rs. 30,000 in pre-treated currency notes. The complainant met the accused that evening inside the school premises and, as per the plan, handed over the money.

11. The CBI team, after being alerted, entered the premises, identified the Principal, and recovered the money from his person, specifically from the right rear pocket of his trousers, tucked within a wallet. Sodium carbonate hand wash tests yielded positive results, confirming that the accused had come into contact with the treated money.

12. Rajesh Kumar was arrested in the early hours of 25.09.2024 and has remained in judicial custody since.

13. Heard learned counsel for the applicant and learned counsel for the CBI. Perused the record.

14. The learned counsel for the applicant has asserted that he has been falsely implicated in the case owing to internal politics and personal vendetta within the school. According to him, the complainant, Arvind Kumar, acted under the influence of certain disgruntled teaching and non-

teaching staff who resented the applicant's firm administrative style.

15. He has a