Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu Tahir Khurshid Raina has denied bail to Virender Singh, DySP Crime Branch who has been booked by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in graft case and observed that corruption in public institutions shakes the people’s confidence and crumbles the social fabric of the society.
After hearing APP Irshad Sheikh for the ACB whereas Advocate Ashwani Thakur for the applicant, Special Judge Anticorruption observed, “on thoughtful consideration of the CD file, the accusations against the accused, as projected in the status report, are quite glaring and based on substantial material on record”.
“The investigation is going on and the alleged bribe amount taken by the accused is still un-recovered from the accused on account of his stubborn attitude in his interrogation by the ACB”, the Judge said, adding “in presence of prima facie incriminating material as reflected from the CD file about the culpability of the accused in the alleged crime committed I do not find any substance in the ground projected by the defence. More so, when the investigation is going on, the defence is at liberty to put documents before the IO who will examine the same and draw his conclusions accordingly”.
“It is really shocking and unfortunate that a senior police officer who is posted in a prestigious investigating wing of the police has prima facie resorted to corruption while investigating a case assigned to him as an investigator. Such a detestable act on the part of officer can malign the image of the institution he belongs to in the eyes of general public and can also lessen the confidence of the people in the working of the institution”, the court said, adding “this is how the credibility of the public institutions withers away in the society, leading to chaos and confusion among the people”.
Court further observed, “the corruption breeds inequality and in-justice in the society and further widens the gap between the haves and have nots. The corruption in public institutions shakes the people’s confidence and crumbles the social fabric of the society. The corruption is a cancer that steals from poor, eats away at governance and moral fibre and destroys trust”.
