Jammu, Aug 17 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Monday that it has arrested a probationary sub-inspector of J&K Police while accepting a bribe in Jammu district.

Officials said the probationary Sub-Inspector Danish Hamid, posted at the Janipur Police Station in Jammu, was arrested on Sunday.

“He was caught red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 to drop a threatened First Information Report (FIR) related to a marital dispute. Danish Hamid demanded Rs 20,000 as a bribe, which the complainant later negotiated to Rs 10,000. He was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe. He has been booked for extortion for not lodging an FIR in a personal dispute,” an official said.

Before the abrogation of Article 370 and reorganisation of J&K, the CBI did not have jurisdiction over state officials involved in corruption.

Now, the CBI holds full legal jurisdiction to investigate corruption and bribery offences within the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, operating under the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act and empowered by state consent alongside dedicated anti-corruption courts.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has reaffirmed that the CBI possesses valid general consent to probe offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and related penal codes within the region.

CBI jurisdiction remains fully active following the 2019 territorial reorganisation, allowing centralised tracking and trial of graft cases through specialised anti-corruption CBI courts in Jammu and Srinagar.

Till August 5, 2019, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) only had jurisdiction to act against public servants involved in corruption. To proceed against central services officers like the IAS/IPS/IFS, etc, the ACB had to obtain prior permission for trial of the involved officers.

The CBI does not face this hurdle, and its independent capacity to act against public servants involved in corruption does not need prior permission.

No prior permission is required if an IAS/IPS/IFS officer is caught red-handed accepting a bribe.

However, for corruption cases involving routine administrative policy decisions or recommendations, the legal requirements depend entirely on the stage of the legal process and the specific nature of the offence under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988.

–IANS

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