The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Karnataka High Court granting anticipatory bail to IPS officer Srinath Joshi Mahadev, who is accused of allegedly abusing his official position in a corruption case investigated by the Karnataka Lokayuktha Police.
A Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva allowed an appeal filed by the Karnataka Lokayuktha Police challenging the High Court’s September 1, 2025 order granting anticipatory bail to Mahadev.
The case arises from an FIR registered on June 2, 2025, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Initially, only Ningappa Savantha, a dismissed police constable, was named as an accused. The allegation against Savantha was that he had impersonated an official of the Lokayuktha’s office and extorted money from public servants by threatening them.
Srinath Joshi Mahadev, who was then serving as a Superintendent of Police in the Lokayuktha, was subsequently implicated on the basis of disclosures made by Savantha and was later arraigned as accused No. 2. The prosecution alleged that the two were in contact and that Savantha used to visit the Lokayuktha office to meet Mahadev.
The Supreme Court noted that two mobile phone handsets seized from Mahadev were found to have been tampered with and extensively damaged. They had been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination, and the report was still awaited when the High Court granted anticipatory bail.
The High Court had granted relief on the ground that Srinath Joshi Mahadev had appeared before the Investigating Officer in response to a notice and had not been arrested, concluding that there was no apprehension of arrest.
Disagreeing with this reasoning, the Supreme Court observed that the allegations against Srinath Joshi Mahadev required serious consideration, particularly given his position in the very institution established to check corruption.
“
“The inescapable fact is that the respondent is a member of the uniformed service and is of the rank of no less than the Superintendent of Police. Grave accusations have been levelled against him in the context of his alleged abuse of office within the establishment of the Lokayuktha,” the Court observed.
It further held that the allegations warranted deeper examination and that the High Court was not justified in foreclosing the possibility of custodial interrogation by granting anticipatory bail.
The Court accordingly set aside the High Court’s order and directed Mahadev to surrender within three weeks. It clarified that he would be at liberty to seek regular bail before the appropriate forum in accordance with law.
