BENGALURU: Accused IAS officer J Manjunath, former Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban, moved the Karnataka High Court for bail in a bribery case registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) under the Prevention of Corruption Act, on May 18, 2022.
Hearing the bail petition, Justice HP Sandesh on Wednesday ordered notice to the ACB and posted the matter for hearing on July 27. Manjunath, who is in custody since July 4, moved a bail plea before the special court, which rejected it on July 11.
He claimed he was falsely implicated in the crime for extraneous reasons. The bail plea also stated that the ACB had arrested two accused -- the second one accepted a bribe of Rs 5 lakh at the instructions of the first one, and there was no talk of Manjunath’s involvement in the entire episode.
His petition claimed the charge may have been based on the observation by the high court while hearing the bail petition of PS Mahesh, Deputy Tahsildar and Manjunath’s assistant, and also due to media reports. The investigating officer has made him accused no. 3, though he was cooperating with the investigation, the petition said.