MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Monday declined anticipatory bail to a Satara sessions court judge accused of seeking a bribe from a bail applicant in a cheating case.
The sessions judge, Dhananjay Nikam, had petitioned HC on Dec 31, 2024, through his advocate Viresh Purwant. Senior counsel Ashok Mundargi appeared for him before Justice N R Borkar and sought relief, while additional public prosecutor Veera Shinde opposed the plea. HC’s reasoned order will be made available later.
On Jan 15, Justice Borkar had noted the prosecution’s claim that the complainant sat in the judge’s car and the two allegedly had an incriminating conversation on the way to a bank. The sessions judge called all allegations as false and argued that there was nothing to link him to any accusation of demand or acceptance of money.
Mundargi said a plea was made to the bank to provide CCTV camera footage from Dec 9, 2024, but the bank expressed its inability to provide it without a court order, citing “confidentiality norms”. HC had directed the bank in Jan to hand over the footage in a week.
Purwant said they will study the order and decide the next course of action.