New Delhi, May 06: The Supreme Court has granted bail to a former Bihar government official accused in a corruption case, expressing surprise over claims that crucial evidence — seized currency notes — was destroyed by rats in a police evidence room, reported Bar and Bench.
A Bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan suspended the four-year sentence of former Child Development Programme Officer Aruna Kumari, noting that the key evidence in the case was no longer available.
“We are taken by surprise that the currency notes got destroyed by rodents,” the Bench observed while granting bail.
The Court also flagged the incident as a serious lapse, pointing to possible revenue loss for the State. “We wonder how many such currency notes… get destroyed as they are not kept at a safe place. It’s a huge revenue loss,” it remarked.
The case dates back to 2019, when Bihar’s Economic Offences Unit conducted a trap operation, alleging Kumari had accepted a bribe of ₹10,000. The money was seized, sealed and deposited in the police malkhana as primary evidence.
However, during trial, the prosecution said the cash could not be produced because rodents had infested the storage room and destroyed the envelope containing the notes.
While a trial court had earlier acquitted Kumari, the Patna High Court in 2025 overturned the acquittal and convicted her, holding that the absence of physical evidence did not weaken the case, citing records and circumstantial proof.
The Supreme Court, however, found the explanation unconvincing, stating that the claim of destruction by rodents “does not inspire any confidence.”
It has indicated that the issue will be examined further. The ruling has raised fresh questions over evidence preservation in police malkhanas and the integrity of criminal investigations.
