Overview
- Clerk-cum-typist Chandrakant Vasudev was arrested after accepting Rs 15 lakh at a Chembur cafe during an Anti-Corruption Bureau trap using verified dummy cash.
- Investigators say the demand began at Rs 25 lakh, allegedly split as Rs 10 lakh for the clerk and Rs 15 lakh for Additional Sessions Judge Ejazuddin Qazi, before being negotiated to Rs 15 lakh.
- After the handover, the ACB recorded Vasudev calling Qazi to report receipt of the money, leading to both being booked under sections 7, 7A and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
- A Special ACB court remanded Vasudev to custody until November 16, and the ACB obtained permission to search Qazi’s Churchgate residence, sealed the locked quarters, and is seeking approval to arrest him.
- The alleged bribe is tied to a commercial property dispute that began with a 2015 Bombay High Court petition, saw a 2016 stay on third-party rights, and was transferred to the Mazgaon civil sessions court in March 2024.