MUMBAI: CBI searched the premises of a retired official of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in a case where a legal firm is accused of accepting a bribe from an NCLT litigant for a favourable order. The initial demand was Rs 1.5 crore for influencing NCLT members, which was reduced to Rs 1 crore after negotiations. Of this amount, Rs 20 lakh was paid into the legal firm’s account at the instance of CBI. The remaining amount was to be paid in cash.
CBI registered a case against the proprietor of the legal firm and his employee. The role of the retired NCLT official, now a private consultant, is not clear. CBI is investigating possible connections between the accused individuals and both current and former NCLT officials.
In the current case, the hearings in the litigant’s case ended last year, and NCLT reserved it for an order in Aug.
At NCLT, Mumbai, the complainant had submitted a petition against the firm. After following the legal process, a resolution plan was submitted to NCLT bench, and after concluding the arguments, the bench reserved the order in Aug. The order is yet to be announced.
According to CBI FIR, the legal firm’s employee approached the complainant, claiming connections with NCLT members and offering a favourable decision for monetary compensation.
The legal firm used the term ‘fees’ as a code for the bribe. The complainant decided to approach CBI. CBI verified his allegation and subsequently registered the FIR.
Investigations showed that after the legal firm employee’s initial request for a 50% advance was rejected, he, along with his firm’s proprietor, agreed to a 20% (Rs 20 lakh) advance. CBI monitored their movements and recently searched their premises . During further examination of their mobile phones and other evidence, CBI searched the retired NCLT official on Monday.
The CBI FIR named the proprietor of the legal firm along with his employee, along with unknown public servants and private persons, for criminal conspiracy and attempting to manipulate public cases through illegal means.