The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to suspended Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) Deputy Commissioner Shankar Patole and his associates Omkar Ram Gaikar and Sushant Sanjay Surve in a ₹70-lakh bribery case investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
The case, registered at Naupada Police Station in Thane, pertains to offences under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act. According to the complaint, a builder developing a property with unauthorised structures had approached Patole, who allegedly demanded ₹20 lakh to initiate action against the violations. Though half the amount was transferred to Surve, Patole reportedly took no action beyond issuing two notices.
Later, Patole allegedly demanded another ₹50 lakh, prompting the builder to approach the ACB. A trap was laid, and investigators recorded a phone conversation in which Patole purportedly demanded the bribe. Gaikar was caught red-handed while allegedly collecting the cash on Patole’s behalf.
Advocates Aabad Ponda and Saurabh Butala, representing Patole, argued that none of the charges attracted punishment exceeding seven years and that the police should have first issued summons under Section 41A of the CrPC. They further contended that the accused’s continued detention would amount to “pre-trial punishment.”
Advocates Sudeep Pasbola and Waqar Pathan maintained that the money transferred to Surve’s account was legitimate consultancy fees, while Advocate Harshad Sathe, representing Gaikar, said his client was unaware that the bag he carried contained cash.
Justice N.J. Jamadar, while acknowledging that the evidence made out a prima facie case, noted that it was “essentially a trap case” with most material already collected by the ACB. Observing that Patole’s suspension reduced the risk of tampering with records, the court ruled that further detention was not necessary.
While granting bail, the court imposed stringent conditions after the prosecution expressed concern over alleged threats made to the complainant builder.
