Supreme Court grants interim bail to ED officer Ankit Tiwari in graft case

March 20, 2024 02:20 pm | Updated 02:20 pm IST

The Supreme Court granted interim bail to Enforcement Directorate officer Ankit Tiwari on March 20. The ED officer was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on charges of demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹20 lakh from a doctor in Dindigul on November 1.

Mr. Tiwari has been ordered not to leave Tamil Nadu without prior permission from the Supreme Court.

On February 12, the Supreme Court extended its stay order of criminal proceedings against Mr. Tiwari by the Tamil Nadu DVAC.

The Central agency had challenged the proceedings against Mr. Tiwari. It has argued that the action against Mr. Tiwari, an ED officer in Tamil Nadu, was a tit-for-tat by the State for money laundering and corruption cases lodged by Central agencies against Ministers and ensuing raids on them. It has sought a transfer of the case from DVAC.

Tamil Nadu, represented by Additional Advocate General Amit Anand Tiwari, has stated that Mr. Tiwari was caught red-handed accepting a bribe of ₹20 lakh from a doctor in Dindigul district.

On January 25, the apex court had stayed both DVAC and the ED from probing the case against Mr. Tiwari. The Bench had directed the material collected so far in the investigation to be placed on record before it.