Thane District Court Employees Acquitted of Corruption Charges

Thane, 12th May 2024: In Thane, a clerk and a peon from the district court have been acquitted of corruption charges by the special ACB court due to insufficient evidence. Judge DB Bangde, in his ruling, highlighted the prosecution’s failure to substantiate the allegations against Maya Shivaji Kasbe, 52, and Sunil Namdeo Muley, 42, both employed in the records section of the Thane district court.

The prosecution claimed that Kasbe and Muley demanded a bribe from a complainant in exchange for certified copies of bail applications. Allegedly, the complainant was asked to pay Rs 700, with Rs 500 earmarked for Kasbe and Rs 200 for Muley. However, the complainant alerted the ACB, leading to a trap on March 24, 2015, resulting in the arrest of one individual purportedly accepting the bribe on behalf of both defendants.

The defence challenged the accusation, raising concerns about the integrity of the investigation and the credibility of the prosecution’s account. Following arguments from both sides, the judge identified numerous discrepancies and inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case, questioning the thoroughness of the investigation and highlighting gaps in the evidence.

Furthermore, the judge noted discrepancies in the evidence, particularly regarding the recording of conversations using different micro SD cards, and the absence of direct evidence linking the accused peon to the alleged bribery scheme. Ultimately, the prosecution failed to establish the accused’s involvement in issuing certified copies of documents or any pending work with the complainant at the time of the alleged bribery incident.