The Delhi High Court has observed that merely because an accused is smart in responding to the questions of the interrogator cannot mean that he is not cooperating in the interrogation.

“Nobody is under a duty not to be smart. It is the interrogator who has to be smarter in order to elicit the requisite information,” Justice Girish Kathpalia said.

The Court made the observations while granting anticipatory bail to an accused, Ravjeet Singh, in a corruption case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

As per CBI, the main accused allegedly entered into a conspiracy with representatives of private companies dealing in defence manufacturing and logistics to obtain undue favours from government departments.

Singh was alleged to have been in contact with the main accused for securing approvals from the Ministry of External Affairs in lieu of illegal gratification.

Allowing the plea, the Court noted that the ground on which the anticipatory bail was opposed by CBI was that Singh would not cooperate in the interrogation, calling it a “vague and unacceptable ground.”

“Merely because an accused is smart in responding to the questions of the interrogator, it cannot be said that he is not cooperating in the interrogation,” the Court said.

The Court also noted that the main chargesheet had already been filed and the accused could be directed to join investigation whenever required.

Counsel for Applicant: Mr. Trideep Pias, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Dhruv Gautam, Mr. Abhishek Tongar, Mr. Sarath Manari, Ms. Saloni Ambastha and Ms. Sakshi Jain, Advocates

Counsel for Respondent: Mr. Vikrant Pachnanda, SPP with Mr. Mukul Katyal, Advocate

Title: RAVJEET SINGH v. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Del) 256

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