Final Report Establishes Offer Of Bribe- Delhi HC Dismisses Lt Gen Tejinder Singh's Challenge To Charges Framed In Tatra Case

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea by former Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh challenging the framing of charges against him for allegedly offering a bribe to then Army Chief V K Singh in connection with the Tatra-all terrain vehicles.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav held that the trial court's order does not call for any interference and dismissed Tejinder Singh's revision petition challenging the trial court's August 2, 2019 order framing charges against him.

So far as the arguments with respect to various omissions and contradictions in the case of the prosecution are concerned, the same are the subject matter of trial and the present case cannot be said to be a case of no material.

"In the instant case a perusal of the FIR and the final report submitted by the CBI before the trial court clearly establishes that an element of abetment that is "offer of bribe" is very much in existence for doing a particular thing" the Court held.

According to the CBI, complainant General V K Singh, the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) through his letters of March 30 and April 10, 2012, had alleged that during a meeting in his office on September 22, 2010, the petitioner (Tejinder Singh) had offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore on behalf of one Ravi Rishi to clear the file for procurement of 1676 HMVs (High Mobility Vehicles) including Tatra vehicles by the first week of October 2010.

Based on the complaints, a preliminary inquiry was registered and later an FIR was lodged by the CBI in October 2012 under Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Senior Advocates Siddharth Luthra appearing for Tejinder Singh, had submitted that the trial court's order on framing of charge was contrary to the settled legal position as no offence under Section 12 (punishment for abetment of certain offences) of the PC Act was made out.

CBI's standing counsel Anil Grover opposed the petition saying that the plea was without any merit and the petitioner was not entitled to any relief and that the order passed by the trial court does not call for any interference.

Click here to read/download Order

With PTI inputs