The Punjab and Haryana High Court grants bail to IRS officials allegedly demanding bribes in Rs. 45 lakh income tax settlement.
The bench of Justice Sumeet Goel has observed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Amit Kumar Singhal and alleged middleman Harsh Kotak in connection with a high-profile bribery case. Both were arrested earlier this year following a trap laid by the agency.
According to the chargesheet, filed under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act before a CBI court, Kotak was caught on May 31, 2025, while accepting ₹25 lakh from businessman Sanam Kapoor, director of a company and franchise holder of La Pino’z Pizza. The money, the agency alleges, was meant for Singhal.
Kapoor had approached the CBI claiming that Singhal had demanded a total of ₹45 lakh in exchange for halting further action on a notice issued by the Income Tax Department. He said he first met Singhal in Delhi in April 2025, where the officer allegedly raised the demand and later introduced Kotak to facilitate the payment.
Following the complaint, the CBI set up a trap and arrested Kotak while receiving the cash. Singhal was subsequently taken into custody from his Vasant Kunj residence in New Delhi in the early hours of June 1, 2025. Investigators maintain that the officer not only acknowledged the demand but also accepted part of the bribe through Kotak.
At the time of his arrest, Singhal was serving as Additional Director General, Directorate of Tax Payers Services, Delhi. Kapoor further alleged that he had once been in a business partnership with Singhal but severed ties in December 2024 due to contractual issues. He claimed the officer, holding a grudge, retaliated by issuing an Income Tax notice on February 18, 2025, and subsequently harassing him.
During searches at Singhal’s residences in Delhi and Mohali, the CBI reportedly recovered gold, silver, and property-related documents.
The agency has named over 20 witnesses in its chargesheet and attached transcripts and a pen drive containing recorded conversations between Singhal and Kapoor as crucial evidence.
The court, while granting bail noted that nothing tangible has been brought to indicate the likelihood of the petitioner absconding from the indicate the likelihood of the petitioner absconding from the process of justice or interfering with the prosecution evidence. Moreover, the evidence also also comprises documentary records, electronic data, and recovery memos which are already in the custody of the investigating agency.
Case Details
Case Title: Dr. Amit Kumar Singal Versus CBI
Case No.: CRM-31794-2025
Date: 18.08.2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Vikram Chaudhri, Senior Advocate
Counsel For Respondent: Ravi Kamal Gupta
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