New Delhi [India], May 4 : A Rouse Avenue court on Monday granted bail to accused Bharat Mathur in a bribery case of Rs 2.5 lakh.
Mathur is a senior executive of a major corporate group. He was arrested along with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) deputy DG Mudavath Devula by the CBI on April 19.
Special Judge Chhavi Kapoor granted bail to Bharat Mathur after hearing the submissions of counsel for Bharat Mathur and the investigation officer (IO) of the case and noting that he had been interrogated for 5 days and he has no previous criminal antecedents.
He has been granted bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh and one surety in the like amount.
Advocate Ashish Batra, counsel for Bharat Mathur, submitted that his mobile phone and other electronic gadgets are in the possession of the CBI. Nothing has been recovered from the residence of Bharat Mathur.
Mathur had moved an application through advocate Ashish Batra. It was submitted that the alleged offences are punishable with a maximum sentence of 7 Years.
The Rouse Avenue court had sought a reply from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a regular bail application moved on behalf of Bharat Mathur.
He was arrested in an alleged bribery case of Rs. 2.5 Lakh alongwith DGCA deputy DG Mudavath Devula. Both are in judicial custody after a CBI investigation.
On April 24, the court remanded DGCA deputy DG Mudavath Devula and Bharat Mathur in judicial custody till May 6.
A Rouse Avenue court on April 22 extended the CBI custody of Mudavath Devula, Deputy DG of DGCA and Bharat Mathur for 2 days.
The Counsel for the CBI had sought 5 days further custody, saying that this case related to seeking an illegal advantage for clearing the file for the import of drones. A deal was struck at Rs 5 lakh for each application.
The Accused persons were arrested from a restaurant near Hauz Khas, and an amount of Rs 2.5 lakh was recovered from the accsued persons. Their custody is required for investigation and to confront them with the evidence collected during the investigation, the CBI had said.
On April 19, the court remanded Mudavath Devula and Bharat Mathur to 3 days of CBI custody on April 19.
The CBI registered the case on April 18 against an official of the DGCA and Bharat Mathur on the allegation that the accused public servant of DGCA demanded undue advantage from private persons in lieu of issuing approvals and permissions for applications pending with DGCA.
CBI had conducted searches at the premises of the accused public servant and other private persons at 04 locations in Delhi, resulting in the seizure of cash worth Rs. 37 Lakhs, Gold and Silver Coins and multiple digital devices.