SC refuses to grant relief to IAS officer in graft case
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih in its order on Aug 4 said it was 'not inclined to interfere' with the high court's July 28 ruling. However, the court allowed Sethi the liberty to surrender and apply for regular bail, saying it would be considered 'on its own merits'.
The case stems from the arrest of a group general manager of a public sector unit on Dec 8, 2024, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from a Bhubaneswar-based real estate firm. During interrogation of the manager, Sethi's name reportedly emerged, following which CBI raided the senior bureaucrat's residence on Feb 18 this year.
Sethi had earlier approached the high court for anticipatory bail after his petition seeking to quash the CBI probe was dismissed on June 20. The high court termed his plea 'premature' as the investigation was still at an early stage.
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