New Delhi: The Supreme Court has questioned how cash seized in a bribery case in Bihar could be “destroyed by rats”, calling it a significant loss to the state exchequer.
The case dates back to 2014, when a woman officer working as a Child Development Project Officer was caught on allegations of accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000. The Patna High Court later upheld the prosecution case and sentenced her to four years in prison.
Challenging that verdict, the officer moved the Supreme Court. The apex court had earlier granted her exemption from surrendering before the court until further orders.
When the appeal came up before a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan, the judges referred to a paragraph from the Patna High Court’s judgment noting that the seized cash had not been properly maintained in the malkhana (storage room) and was damaged by rats and insects.
Expressing surprise, the bench said the explanation offered was not convincing and raised concerns about how much seized cash and material in criminal cases may be getting destroyed due to unsafe storage. The court granted bail to the officer and stayed the Patna High Court’s order.
