Jaipur: Rajasthan High Court has directed Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to register an FIR and investigate allegations against high-ranking officials of State Bank of India (SBI) for demanding Rs 40 lakh from a former bank manager to drop criminal charges against him.The directive, issued by the bench of Justice Ashok Kumar Jain on Oct 5, overturned ACB’s earlier decision to close its preliminary inquiry into the matter. The court criticised the bureau for not filing an FIR and noted that a proper investigation is essential when there are allegations of cognisable offences.Vivek Sharma previously worked as a chief manager at SBI’s Bhiwadi branch, where he discovered a suspected housing loan fraud amounting to Rs 51 lakh. According to Sharma’s claims, after he reported the irregularities, he became a target of retaliation from senior bank officials. The backlash included a police complaint that led to his suspension in Sept 2020, which was only revoked after the investigating officer submitted a closure report.Sharma alleged that SBI officials sought a bribe of Rs 40 lakh to drop the charges against him. Following these events, he took his complaints to various authorities, including the Central Vigilance Commission and the SBI chairperson, before approaching ACB on Nov 15, 2022.While ACB initially conducted a verification process and found credible claims within Sharma’s complaint, it still opted to close the inquiry and proposed prosecuting Sharma himself for allegedly providing false evidence. The high court, however, emphasised that when credible allegations are made, an FIR must be filed without unnecessary preliminary inquiries. The high court, however, declined to transfer the investigation to CBI.
