New Delhi, Oct 31 A Delhi court on Saturday discharged a former joint drug controller and three others in a corruption case registered by the CBI over alleged bribery linked to the approval of a drug, saying that the prosecution had failed to make out even a prima facie case.
Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Pahuja discharged Dr Eswara Reddy Sanapa Reddy, former Joint Drug Controller at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO); Animesh Kumar, an official of the regulator; Guljit Sethi alias Guljit Chaudhri, a director of Bioinnovat Research Services Pvt Ltd; and L Praveen Kumar, an Associate Vice President at Biocon Biologics Ltd.
The judge said that the CBI’s allegations “do not give rise to suspicion, let alone the grave suspicion”.
“I find it a fit case to grant the benefit of discharge to the accused persons and the present case of prosecution lacks to even constitute a prima facie case for offences as invoked in the present chargesheet,” he added.
The CBI had registered the case in June 2022, under the Prevention of Corruption Act provisions and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.
The agency alleged that the accused conspired to pay Rs 9 lakh to Reddy in return for favours to Biocon Biologics, including the waiver of a Phase-III clinical trial for its “Insulin Aspart Injection”.
It was alleged that Reddy got the drug’s file added to the agenda of a Subject Expert Committee (SEC) meeting on May 18, 2022, and that the word “data” was changed to “protocol” in the committee’s draft recommendations to benefit the company.
According to the CBI, a trap was laid on June 20, 2022, and Rs 4 lakh was recovered from a bag kept on a chair at Reddy’s residence in Chanakyapuri.
The bag had been brought by Dinesh Dua, who later turned approver after being granted pardon in April 2023.
The court said demand and acceptance of illegal gratification are essential for an offence under the PC Act provision, and neither was prima facie established.
“There is no direct evidence” showing when, where and how Reddy demanded a bribe, the court observed, adding that no witness or recorded conversation supported the claim of demand.
On acceptance, the judge noted that the bag was recovered from the same chair where Dua had left it, and that the cash was concealed under a painting.
“Merely putting the bag on a chair in the house of the accused does not amount to the factum of acceptance,” the court said, adding that Reddy’s knowledge of the contents could not be presumed.
Mere recovery of money from premises is not sufficient to invoke the PC Act provision, it said.
The court found the statements of approver Dua unreliable, citing material contradictions between his statements.
It also noted that no call detail records showed contact between Dua and Reddy.
It further held that Dua’s account was exculpatory in nature and uncorroborated by independent evidence.
“The statement of the approver Dinesh Dua is not a reliable piece of evidence and not corroborated by independent pieces of evidence; therefore, it cannot be acted upon,” the judge said.
(PTI News)
