HC denies anticipatory bail to Satara judge accused of bribery | Mumbai news

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to grant anticipatory bail to Dhananjay Nikam, the district and sessions judge of Satara, who is accused of soliciting a ₹5 lakh bribe in exchange for granting bail to a person booked in a cheating case.

Justice N R Borkar, presiding over a single-judge bench, heard Nikam’s plea in-camera. The State Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has booked Nikam for allegedly seeking the bribe through two intermediaries—Kishor Sambhaji Kharat from Mumbai and Anand Mohan Kharat from Satara.

According to the ACB, the Kharat brothers approached the complainant in the case and demanded the bribe on Nikam’s behalf. Investigations revealed that Nikam was actively involved in soliciting a bribe and had acted in collusion with the intermediaries, the agency stated.

Nikam, in his anticipatory bail petition, denied all allegations, calling them baseless. He argued that there was no direct evidence linking him to the bribe demand or any acceptance of money. Furthermore, he claimed that he was either on leave or deputation during the period when the alleged bribe was discussed and had no role in the case. He also asserted that he neither issued any bail orders nor made any promises regarding a favourable decision.

Additionally, Nikam contended that he had no knowledge of any meetings between the complainant and the intermediaries.

During an earlier hearing, the High Court had directed an HDFC Bank branch in Satara to provide CCTV footage from December 9, 2024. This directive came after the prosecution argued that the footage could substantiate claims that Nikam and the complainant had an incriminating conversation while travelling in a car towards the bank.

After weighing the arguments and evidence presented, the High Court on Monday denied anticipatory bail to Nikam, paving the way for further investigation into the allegations against him.