CBI bribery case: Delhi court grants bail to IPS Deepak Gahlawat

A Delhi court granted bail to IPS officer Deepak Gahlawat, a month after his arrest by the CBI in a bribery case. Gahlawat was accused of taking a bribe to influence a CBI probe. The court stated that his continued incarceration was not required.

The Rouse Avenue court on Friday granted bail to IPS Deepak Gahlawat after a month's custody after his arrest by the CBI in a bribery case. The court granted him regular bail, saying that no further custodial interrogation of the applicant is required, and his continued incarceration would not advance the cause of investigation.

Details of the Bribery Allegations

The CBI's allegations against Deepak Gahlawat are that he is an IPS Officer and was posted as Regional Director, Directorate of Civil Aviation. He hatched a criminal conspiracy with the remaining accused with the aim of manipulating and influencing the investigation of a criminal case being investigated by the CBI.

The allegations against Deepak Gahlawat are that on 14.05.2026, accused N. Raja, Rajkumar, Pradeep Singh and Prabhat Kapoor met him in his office, and the applicant assured accused N. Raja of securing favourable relief in the investigation being conducted by CBI with respect to his case, which was transferred to CBI from Puducherry. It is also alleged that a demand for a bribe of Rs. 3 crores was made and an advance of Rs. 1 crore was sent through hawala channels. It is alleged that the entire advance bribe of Rs. 1 crore was recovered in the course of investigation. It is further alleged that during the course of the investigation, it was found that the applicant was not in contact with any public servant posted in CBI.

Court's Rationale for Granting Bail

Special CBI judge Sushant Changotra granted regular bail to Deepak Gahlawat after considering the submissions and noting the period of custody undergone by him and the fact that the charge sheet has not been filed by the CBI.

"As submitted in the Court today, the investigation has for all practical purposes been completed, with only the CFSL report relating to the digital device remaining to be received. The applicant was arrested on 01.07.2026 and has remained in custody for approximately 30 days," Special Judge Changotra said in the order passed on July 31.

The court noted that no further custodial interrogation of the applicant is required, and his continued incarceration would not advance the cause of investigation. Furthermore, even after the filing of the chargesheet, the trial is likely to take a considerable period to conclude.

Bail Conditions

"I am of the considered view that the applicant is entitled to be released on bail. Accordingly, the present bail application is allowed, and the accused Deepak Gahlawat is ordered to be released on bail upon his furnishing of bonds in the sum of Rs.50,000 with one surety of like amount subject to certain conditions," the Special Judge ordered.

The court directed that Deepak Gahlawat shall cooperate in the investigation and shall neither tamper with evidence nor influence witnesses in any manner whatsoever. It is also directed that he shall not leave the country without prior permission of the court.

Defence Arguments

Senior Advocate Manu Sharma, along with Advocates Anurag Nasiar and Arjun Kakkar, appeared for Deepak Gahlawat. It was argued that Gahlawat has been falsely implicated in this case.

The counsel for the applicant further argued that, as per the submissions of the IO, investigation of the case has been virtually concluded. The investigation officially commenced on 08.06.2026 upon registration of FIR, and till date the investigating agency has not claimed to have collected any material to show that the applicant had ever made a demand of bribe from anyone or he was in contact with any public servant posted in CBI.

Senior advocate argued that more than 55 days have passed since the investigation commenced, but no material has been collected to show that the accused received any bribe amount or he was supposed to receive. The recovery of the alleged bribe amount has been effected from other accused persons. (ANI)

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