The country’s highest court has cracked open the jail doors for Enforcement Directorate Assistant Director Vishal Deep, signalling that his continued custody serves no purpose now that investigators have wrapped up their work.
In a decisive reversal, a two-judge Bench set aside the earlier refusal of bail, brushing past the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s stern view that had painted the allegations as part of a sleek, shadowy plan involving aliases, encrypted chats and even family-linked vehicles.
The Supreme Court’s message was blunt: with the charge sheet filed and the investigation sewn up, there is “no compelling reason” to keep the officer behind bars while the trial inches forward.
The High Court, just months earlier, had sounded alarm bells. It described the alleged bribery demands—reportedly made to two college administrators already entangled in a separate money-laundering mess—as an assault on the spine of institutional integrity. The accusations suggested influence-peddling, pressure tactics, and a calculated bid to twist investigative outcomes.
Those allegations triggered a corruption case by the Central Bureau of Investigation, eventually leading to the officer’s arrest. After the High Court shut the door on bail, the officer carried his case to the country’s highest bench.
Before the top court, his legal team argued that prolonged custody had drifted into punishment territory—especially with the trial unlikely to sprint toward a finish anytime soon. The prosecution countered, leaning heavily on the High Court’s earlier admonitions.
The Supreme Court, though, kept its focus narrow. The case material is already before the trial court, it said. The investigation is over. Cooperation can be compelled without incarceration.
With that, the appeals were allowed. The officer will step out on bail, subject to conditions set by the trial court—free for now, but still firmly tethered to the long road ahead.
