Delhi Court Extends CBI Custody in Faceless Tax Bribery Case

A Delhi court has decided to keep two people in police custody because of a bribery case connected to a new income tax system. This system, introduced by the finance ministry, is called the “faceless” income tax assessment scheme. The idea behind this system is to make the process more transparent and reduce chances of corruption. In this scheme, those being assessed do not know who their tax officer is.

On Tuesday, a judge named Anju Bajaj Chandana extended the time that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) can hold an income tax officer named Vijayendra R and a chartered accountant named D K Agarwal. They were brought to court after their initial three days in CBI custody ended. The CBI asked for five more days to investigate, but the judge only allowed two more days.

The CBI mentioned that they found new evidence during the previous custody period that needs more investigation. The judge agreed, saying that two more days in custody would help in finding out the full details of the case. The court also asked to bring the two men back on May 1.

The CBI filed a report that listed other people involved in this case, saying they need to question them as part of the investigation. A lawyer representing Vijayendra argued that the CBI already had all the information it needed, so they didn’t need more time.

Vijayendra is an income tax officer from the 2015 batch and works in Delhi. Agarwal was arrested in Bharuch, Gujarat. The CBI found that the two contacted several people who had high-value tax cases. They promised to help these people get favorable decisions if they were paid bribes.