IRS officer denied bail in graft case

Ahmedabad: A CBI court on Saturday rejected an application for regular bail by Santosh Karnani, the former additional commissioner of income tax in Ahmedabad who has been imprisoned on graft charges.Special judge Kajal Dave denied bail to the IRS officer with the observation that the investigator has charged the applicant with the same sections, which were mentioned in the FIR and therefore there was no change in circumstances even after filing of the chargesheet.Karnani sought bail arguing that important investigation has already been completed and the trial is likely to take time. He is willing to cooperate with the investigation and bail cannot be denied merely on the apprehension that an accused could tamper with evidence or influence witnesses.Karnani has been charge-sheeted under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly demanding Rs 30 lakh as bribe from a local builder, Rupesh Brahmbhatt. Last October, the CBI took over the probe in the case from Gujarat anti-corruption bureau. Karnani got anticipatory bail from the Gujarat high court on December 19, 2022, but the Supreme Court on April 17 cancelled it on the Centre’s appeal. He surrendered to the CBI on April 21.The CBI filed a chargesheet in this case last month against Karnani and his aide and local businessman, Malav Mehta, along with former assistant commissioner Vivek Johri for allegedly helping Karnani escape an arrest. Karnani was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) earlier this year on charges of money laundering.