Nagpur: The Special Court (CBI/ACB), presided over by Judge Ritesh Wankhede, has acquitted Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) engineer Ganesh Waghmare of corruption charges under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the prosecution, the complainant had approached Waghmare for clearance of his pending bills. It was alleged that Waghmare demanded a bribe of ₹14,000, following which the complainant filed a complaint with the CBI. The agency claimed it verified the demand through electronic means and subsequently laid a trap, during which Waghmare was said to have accepted the tainted currency notes.
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However, during the trial, defence counsel Advocate Prakash Naidu challenged the validity of the entire sanction process, pointing out that the competent authority who allegedly granted prosecution sanction was never examined, and the sanction order was signed only by an authorised officer, not the competent authority itself — a key procedural lapse.
Naidu also highlighted inconsistencies in the CBI’s evidence regarding the alleged verification call. The mobile number said to have been used by Waghmare was registered to another WCL official, Indrajit Singh, as shown in the Customer Application Form (CAF) filed by the CBI itself. The defence argued that there was no proof connecting Waghmare to that SIM card, thereby discrediting the CBI’s claim of verifying the bribe demand via phone conversation.
Further, the defence contended that the electronic evidence — including audio recordings — did not comply with the evidentiary standards prescribed under the Indian Evidence Act and by rulings of the Supreme Court and Bombay High Court.
During cross-examination, the complainant admitted that there was no direct demand for ₹14,000 from the accused and that the bills in question had already been cleared before the complaint was filed. The complainant also conceded that Waghmare had no authority to process or release payments, undermining the motive alleged by the prosecution.
Given these contradictions, the court found the prosecution’s case weak and ruled that the presumption of guilt under Section 20 of the Prevention of Corruption Act stood effectively rebutted.
The court, therefore, acquitted Waghmare of all charges.
The defence team included Advocates Prakash Naidu, Homesh Chauhan, Mitesh Bais, Surabhi (Godbole) Naidu, and Dhruv Sharma.
The judgment underscores the importance of procedural accuracy and credible electronic evidence in corruption prosecutions — particularly in cases reliant on digital verification of alleged bribe demands.
