Ahmedabad Sessions Court Clerk Arrested by ACB in ₹10,000 Bribe Trap

The Gujarat Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday arrested an assistant clerk attached to the City Sessions Court in Bhadra for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of ₹10,000 from a litigant.

The accused, identified as Ashokbhai Madhavlal Patel, worked in the court's Appellate Division. According to ACB officials, the entire bribe amount was recovered from Patel during a live trap operation conducted in the city's Naranpura area.

The Property Dispute & Case Overview

The case traces back to a localised property dispute. The complainant and his neighbor share a common compound wall, which the complainant alleged was illegally constructed. When requests to demolish the wall went unheeded, the complainant filed a civil lawsuit.

While the legal proceedings were underway, Patel, leveraging his position in the administrative wing of the court, allegedly approached the complainant to demand a payout.

Facts of the Case:

• The Accused: Ashokbhai Madhavlal Patel, Assistant Clerk (Appellate Division).
• The Location of the Crime: City Sessions Bhadra Court, Ahmedabad.
• The Bribe Demanded: ₹10,000 to manipulate administrative files for a favorable judicial outcome.
• The Tipping Point: The citizen refused to pay the illegal gratification and instead lodged a formal complaint with the Ahmedabad City ACB.
• The Trap Location: A coordinated sting operation was set up near Dharti Circle, opposite the Meldi Mata Temple in Naranpura.
• The Recovery: ACB officers caught Patel red-handed and recovered the marked ₹10,000 currency notes on the spot.

The Sting Operation

After verifying the complainant's claims, the ACB team laid a trap. The complainant was provided with marked currency notes and instructed to hand them over only upon a clear, repeated demand from the clerk.

The exchange was scheduled outside court premises. The ACB team closed in on Patel just as he accepted the cash.

The operation was executed by a team led by Police Inspector K. N. Solanki under the direct supervision of Assistant Director M. H. Puwar. Investigator Haresh Mewada has officially registered the case under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The Ahmedabad City ACB has confirmed that they are now scanning Patel's past departmental record and bank accounts to determine if this was an isolated incident or part of a broader, systemic pattern of extortion within the Bhadra court complex.