The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced on Sunday its decision to register a case against Rakesh Asthana, the agency’s Special Director.

The charge against Asthana is that he accepted a bribe to settle a case connected to meat exporter Moin Qureshi, who is facing multiple cases of money laundering and corruption.

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The CBI has also taken the name of Samant Kumar Goel, the Special Director of Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India’s external intelligence agency. The FIR, however, does not mention Goel as an accused.

It is interesting to note that before being named in an alleged case of bribery, Asthana had filed a complaint against CBI Director Alok Verma accusing him of interfering in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) corruption case. The family members of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav have been named in the IRCTC case.

The complaint against Asthana was filed on 15 October 2018.

Who are the others named in the case?

The case has been registered in RC 13(A)/2018/AC III/New Delhi. The complainant is Sathish Babu Sana, resident of Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Telangana.

There are a total of four accused in the case.

Besides Asthana, the CBI also named its own DSP, Devender Kumar, stationed in New Delhi as a co-accused. Thus there are two officials of the CBI named as accused in the FIR. Besides the public servants, the FIR also mentions two others – Manoj Prasad and Somesh Prasad – who have been accused of acting as conduit in the exchange of crores of money for the alleged settlement of the case.

What are the charges Asthana faces?

Asthana and others face charges under section 120B of the Indian Penal Code and section 7, and 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and section 7A of Prevention of Corruption Act (as amended in 2018).

Section 120B of IPC

Punishment of criminal conspiracy:

(1) Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, 2[imprisonment for life] or rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or upwards, shall, where no express provision is made in this Code for the punishment of such a conspiracy, be punished in the same manner as if he had abetted such offence.

(2) Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy other than a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable as aforesaid shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding six months, or with fine or with both.]

Section 7 The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

Public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act:

— Whoever, being, or expecting to be a public servant, accepts or obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain from any person, for himself or for any other person, any gratification whatever, other than legal remuneration, as a motive or reward for doing or forbearing to do any official act or for showing or forbearing to show, in the exercise of his official functions, favour or disfavour to any person or for rendering or attempting to render any service or disservice to any person, with the Central Government or any State Government or Parliament or the Legislature of any State or with any local authority, corporation or Government company referred to in clause (c) of section 2, or with any public servant, whether named or otherwise, shall be punishable with imprisonment which shall be not less than six months but which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 13(2) The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

13(2) Any public servant who commits criminal misconduct shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall be not less than one year but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 13(1)(d) in The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

(d) if he,—

(i) by corrupt or illegal means, obtains for himself or for any other person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage; or

(ii) by abusing his position as a public servant, obtains for himself or for any other person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage; or

(iii) while holding office as a public servant, obtains for any person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage without any public interest; or

Section 7A of Prevention of Corruption Act (as amended in 2018)

Whoever accepts or obtains or attempts to obtain from another person for himself or for any other person any undue advantage as a motive or reward to induce a public servant, by corrupt or illegal means or by exercise of his personal influence to perform or to cause performance of a public duty improperly or dishonestly or to forbear or to cause to forbear such public duty by such public servant or by another public servant, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

Who is handling the case and what does the CBI say?

The case has been entrusted to Ajay Kumar Bassi, DSCP, CBI, New Delhi.

The CBI also said that Sana had recorded his statement with the concerned court corroborating the facts he mentioned in the complaint on 20 October. The agency added that allegations that Director CBI was not aware of LoC issued against Sana is incorrect and the contention that Director, CBI made an attempt to stop arrest of Sana is false and malicious.

“The allegation has been made to deflect the charge of receipt of bribe money by CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana and the other public servant named in the FIR. The case against the public servants relates to transactions beginning in December 2017, in a case registered in February 2017, whereas the arrest proposal was moved only on 12.9.2018,” the CBI said.