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Madhur Kaushal vs. CBI

Criminal Revision Petition · 2026:DHC:7833Decided 15 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
CRL.REV.P. 511/2026CNR: DLHC010404852026
Justice Madhu Jain

Background

Madhur Kaushal, a Junior Engineer with Indian Railways, was charged with taking a Rs. 10 lakh bribe (routed through his brother in Kanpur) from a railway contractor in exchange for recording favourable measurements for bill payments. He challenged the framing of charges, arguing the CBI never obtained the mandatory prior government approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act before investigating him, and that there was no direct evidence of any demand for a bribe.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court held that Section 17A's approval requirement protects public servants only where the alleged wrongdoing is itself a recommendation or official decision, not where the accusation is that a bribe was demanded and received, which is what was alleged here regardless of the official duty being the occasion for it. The Court also found that demand and acceptance of a bribe can be proved through circumstantial evidence (intercepted calls, disclosure statements, and cash recoveries), and that this material was sufficient at the charge stage to send the case to trial, though questions about the admissibility of intercepted calls were left open for the trial court. The revision petition was dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

The special approval required before investigating a public servant under anti-corruption law protects official decision-making, not the separate act of demanding or taking a bribe, so its absence will not, by itself, stop a bribery prosecution.

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