BHUBANESWAR: The Court of Special Judge, Vigilance, on Wednesday granted default bail to suspended IFS official Abhay Kant Pathak and his son Akash as the anti-corruption agency did not file chargesheet within 60 days. However, Abhay and Akash will continue to be lodged in jail since they are charged in multiple numbers of cases.
Vigilance Directorate sources said, disproportionate assets (DA) case is not a conventional crime involving a private individual. Since it is an offence committed by a public servant, it necessitates detailed investigation. "Investigation of the case is being carried out in various parts of the country with major focus outside Odisha which is time consuming," said a senior officer.
Besides, the technical aspects of DA cases include prosecution sanction from the Government for submission of the chargesheet. In Pathak senior's case, sanction of prosecution is required from the Central Government as Abhay is an all India service officer and without sanction of the prosecution, cognisance of the offence cannot be taken by the court.
"Submitting preliminary chargesheet at this point is not urgent as the probe is far from completion and any major difference in final chargesheet may adversely affect prosecution. Even for preliminary chargesheet, sanction of prosecution is required which is sought only after completion of investigation. We are in no hurry," said the officer.
According to the Supreme Court’s guidelines, there is an obligation on the sanctioning authority to discharge its duty to give or withhold sanction only after having full knowledge of the material facts of the case. However, Pathaks' lawyer Pitambar Acharya said the prosecution agency has no evidence.
"A court grants default bail if police does not file chargesheet in 60 days for offences under Prevention of Corruption Act in which imprisonment may extend up to 10 years. The agency could not even file a preliminary chargesheet during the period as my clients were not involved in any illegal activity," he told The New Indian Express.
The legal challenge for the Pathaks will be higher as Crime Branch has a case against Akash and Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahy for allegedly defrauding job aspirants promising them employment in Tata Motors, while the father-son duo is accused of cheating in a case registered by Kharavela Nagar Police in the city. The Enforcement Directorate has also registered a case against them and is looking into their financial transactions.